Grace Napolitano

Mrs. NAPOLITANO

Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 386) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain buildings and lands of the Yakima Project, Washington, to the Yakima-Tieton Irrigation District.

Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. NAPOLITANO

Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in very strong support of H.R. 235, as amended. This legislation will allow the Redwood Valley County Water District in Northern California to renegotiate loans it received from the Federal Government for an unsuccessful water project. This action will clear the way for the Water District to initiate a new project that will develop a reliable supply of drinking water for that area. The District will rely only on private financing for the new project. No Federal money will be spent on this new project. However, before the District can secure private financing for any project, it must renegotiate the existing loans to provide for their repayment subsequent to repayment of the new loan. Once the new project is built and delivering water, it will provide enough revenue to allow the District to repay both its private loan and the United States Government. Specifically, this legislation allows the Redwood County Valley Water District to secure a private loan for a project to provide the region with a reliable water supply. It also requires the Water District to repay its current suspended loan to the Federal Government once the renewed water project is paid for. In consultation with the minority, the legislation includes a minor amendment to clarify the requirement that the Secretary of the Interior must reschedule loan payments and that the payments must begin immediately upon satisfaction of the Water District's newer financial obligation. Similar legislation was passed by this House in the 109th Congress; and I congratulate my colleague, Congressman Mike Thompson, for all of his hard work on behalf of the Redwood Valley County Water District. I do urge my colleagues to support passage of H.R. 235, as amended. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 235) to allow for the renegotiation of the payment schedule of contracts between the Secretary of the Interior and the Redwood Valley County Water District, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mrs. NAPOLITANO

Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. H.R. 356 removes congressionally imposed restrictions on the use of lands transferred in 1987 from the United States to the Mammoth Community Water District in California. This legislation would allow the District to modify the use of these lands so that those 12 acres of land now used for material storage may be put to a more beneficial use. In 2004, the Subcommittee on Water and Power held a hearing on similar legislation. In the 109th Congress, similar legislation was favorably reported by the committee and passed by the House. We have no objections on this noncontroversial bill. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 356) to remove certain restrictions on the Mammoth Community Water District's ability to use certain property acquired by that District from the United States.

Mrs. NAPOLITANO

Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, Mrs. McMorris Rodgers. Hopefully, we will be able to continue working in a bipartisan manner to get these very, very critical projects going and approved and moving out of this House. I am sure that we are going to have others that are just equally important. I hope the same consideration is given to all those.

Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 482 directs the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain lands and the water pumping facility under construction on the American River to the Placer County Water Agency in California. Currently, the Bureau of Reclamation is obligated by a previous agreement to supply temporary pumping service to satisfy the water rights of the Placer County Water Agency. This temporary pumping is done at considerable cost to the Bureau of Reclamation. The American River Pump Station will provide a permanent facility for the delivery of water to that agency. H.R. 482 allows the bureau to satisfy its contractual obligations by transferring this facility and eliminates the continued cost of providing temporary pumping service to that agency. In the 109th Congress, the Subcommittee on Water and Power held a hearing on similar legislation, and the bill was subsequently favorably reported by the committee and passed by the House. We have no objections to this legislation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 482) to direct the Secretary of the Interior to transfer ownership of the American River Pump Station Project, and for other purposes.

Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. NAPOLITANO

Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Mr. Speaker, on Friday, January 19, 2007, I was absent due to a family obligation. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 42, agreeing to H.R. 475--to revise the composition of the House of Representatives Page Board to equalize the number of members representing the majority and minority parties and to include a member representing the parents of pages and a member representing former pages.

Mrs. NAPOLITANO

Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 36, had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Mrs. NAPOLITANO

Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Thank you, Chairman Miller. Madam Speaker, following each statement I will provide a translation in Spanish. Today, I join my colleagues to support the College Student Relief Act, H.R. 5. A competitive global economy cannot be sustained without an educated workforce and the affordable education for those people. Hoy, acompano a mis colegas en apoyar la propuesta. La economia competitiva global no se puede llevar acabo sin tener ciudadanos educados y hacer educacion accesible. Like many students from my district, Jenna, a Pomona student, recently spoke of her $30,000 debt for her post-graduate degree. (En Espanol) Como muchos estudiantes de mi distrito, estudiante Jenna recientemente hablo sobre su deuda de 30 mil dolares, el costo para obtener su licenciatura posgraduada. She is burdened not only by the high cost of education tuition, the loan payments, but also by having to look for employment, much like many of the other minority and Hispanic peers. (En Espanol) No solo tiene la deuda de su colegiatura y de su prestamo, tambien tiene que buscar empleo, como la mayoria de sus colegas Hispanas y otras menorias. Students like her will save $2,500 over the life of their loan at no additional cost to the taxpayer. (En Espanol) Sin costo adicional al los que pagan impuestos, estudiantes podran ahorrar mas de $2,500 sobre el total del prestamo. It is time to help our students. Give them the aid they need. Lower the student loan rates. I certainly want to ensure that all my colleagues on both sides vote for this proposal, H.R. 5. Es tiempo que ayudemos a nuestros estudiantes. Denles la ayuda necesaria!! Bajemos la tasa del prestamo!

Mrs. NAPOLITANO

Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Mr. Speaker, a minimum wage increase is crucial for all Americans, more so for women and minorities. Es de maxima importancia que este Congreso eleve el salario minimo, especialmente para las mujeres y menorias. Ten years of neglect, plus inflation, have left workers living below poverty. Diez anos de olvido, mas la inflacion, han dejado a nuestros trabajadores en pobreza. 1.4 million working women will be main beneficiaries for an increase from $5.15 to eventually $7.25 per hour in 2 years, of which 33 percent are African American and Hispanic female workers. Mas de uno punto quarto millon de mujeres trabajan -seran las beneficiaries el cual son Hispanas y AfroAmericanas del salario de 5.15 a 7.25 pro hora. It helps economic social conditions, reduces pay gaps. It helps the economy. More money spent will create more career opportunities through affordability of education. Ayuda a la economia nacional ya que se gastara mas dinero. Mujeres encabezadas de su familia podran tener mas dinero para mantener su familia. Women breadwinners can increase economic and financial independence. Enough talk. Take action. Have a conscience. Help America. Vote for the minimum wage increase.

Mrs. NAPOLITANO

Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to be an original cosponsor of Mr. Radanovich's legislation to authorize implementation of the San Joaquin River Restoration Settlement. Enacting this legislation will allow the San Joaquin River--the second-longest river in California--to once again have the water it needs to support a viable salmon fishery. If enacted, the San Joaquin River will be a living river decades after the Bureau of Reclamation built Friant Dam. Putting water back into a dry river in California is a very complicated and controversial task. A number of ``third parties'' have now come forward to express concerns that their own particular interests may in some way be detrimentally affected by this settlement and its proposed legislation, and ask that this legislation be restructured to eliminate or minimize their concerns. It is entirely appropriate that this legislation addresses those concerns. As we consider the implications of enacting this restoration legislation for the San Joaquin River and the need to protect a variety of interests, I am mindful of and remain committed to progress in implementing and funding the December 19, 2000, Trinity River restoration record of decision and the Hoopa Valley Tribe's comanagement of the decision's important goal of restoring the fishery resources that the United States holds in trust for the Hoopa Valley Tribe. The San Joaquin River Restoration Settlement legislation is tremendously important for all of California. The settling parties, along with Senator Feinstein, Congressman Radanovich, and many other concerned and affected parties have worked long and hard to bring this settlement to Congress all making concessions, and deserve our recognition and appreciation. I will continue to work with my colleagues and do whatever I can to help ensure the enabling legislation is enacted.

Mrs. NAPOLITANO

Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Mr. Chairman, I rise as chair of the 21-member Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and call for the reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act. This bill is about protecting the most basic and significant civil rights for all American citizens, the right to vote. I call on this House to pass the bill.

Mrs. NAPOLITANO

Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment. The gentleman from Arizona and I have had some conversation over this particular issue earlier today, and I did try to impress upon him that this is not just an earmark. This isn't pork. This is, in fact, funding that would come from the Small Business Administration account for construction of the $25 million trade center that is going to be located at the Pomona State Fairgrounds, which, by the way, is also a proposed staging area for the Los Angeles County emergency staging for terrorism. And this is vital to the city of Pomona and the whole surrounding community not only east of the Los Angeles area but the Inland Empire, as was mentioned by my colleague, Congressman Dreier. This would create jobs and assist businesses in an economically depressed as well as disadvantaged community and, of course, as many of us already know, the number one crime city in the State of California. The unemployment rates are exceedingly high. Now, this new addition to the fairgrounds, the Trade and Conference Center, will generate 1,700 full-time jobs, provide a large economic stimulus in the community where now a lot of people are out of work; businesses are moving partly because of NAFTA and others, let me tell you. But 90 small businesses are already signed and registered to work at this new facility or to be able to be exposed there. The Fairplex is a very well respected, nonprofit event center hosting yearly over 300 activities, including the Los Angeles County Fair, and attracts hundreds of thousands of people. It is used for Federal events and, as you just recently heard, for the Iraqi elections. And last but not least, it is also used for naturalization ceremonies. I wish to thank my colleague, Chairman Dreier, for his support of the project that affects the many surrounding communities of southern Los Angeles. And as the Representative for Pomona, I am proud to support this bid of $750,000, which will benefit jobs and the economy in this area. And in helping this project move forward, I certainly thank you and look forward to the support for defeating the amendment.