{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/2024/08/01/press-releases-id-121d154a-d878-46ad-a792-a0fa7f42e54d/", "Bennet, Heinrich, Merkley, Caraveo, Vasquez Welcome $400 Million to Combat Historic Western Drought", "2024-08-01", "2024", "2024-08", "Democrat", "Senate", "CO", "Michael F. Bennet", "B001267", "www.bennet.senate.gov", "bennet", "https://www.bennet.senate.gov/news/page/", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2014 U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), and Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) and U.S. Representatives Yadira Caraveo (D-Colo.) and Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.) welcomed the U.S. Department of Agriculture\u2019s (USDA) announcement of $400 million to address drought through investments at the irrigation district scale in 12 states across the American West.\n\n\u201cFamily farmers, water users, and communities across the American West are facing the effects of a 1200-year drought and a changing climate. This is a five-alarm fire, and Washington ought to treat it that way,\u201d said Bennet. \u201cWith this investment, the Biden administration answered our call to bring resources to bear that will help producers innovate and become more resilient to drought. I\u2019m grateful for Secretary Vilsack\u2019s leadership in delivering this relief for Colorado and the West.\u201d\n\n\u201cNew Mexicans are on the front lines of increasingly extreme weather events driven by climate change, including prolonged drought and long-term aridification. We need better tools to stay prepared,\u201d said Heinrich, Chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee that oversees USDA. \u201cI applaud the USDA for heeding our calls to invest in new, innovative resources for our agricultural producers and communities to strengthen water security and climate resilience.\u201d\n\n\u201cAs climate chaos fuels long-term drought in Oregon and across the American West, the federal government must use all the resources at its disposal to address this ongoing crisis,\u201d said Merkley. \u201cMy colleagues and I urged the administration to take action earlier this year, and I applaud the USDA for creating this new program to fund innovative water solutions. This is a much-needed step forward to build a stronger, more resilient future for the West\u2019s economy and environment.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019m very excited the bicameral effort I helped lead in April urging USDA for Western drought investments paid off. This new Water Savings Commodity Program and federal investments will be life changing for Colorado \u2014 giving our communities the resources and protections they need,\u201d said Caraveo.\n\n\u201cNew Mexicans understand the critical impact that long-term droughts have on our communities and agricultural industries. After calling on the USDA for additional resources, I\u2019m now proud to welcome this $400 million investment to address droughts and improve water conservation efforts,\u201d said Vasquez. \u201cThis funding will help ensure a more sustainable, resilient future for the American West.\u201d\n\nProducers who participate in USDA\u2019s Water Saving Commodity Program will receive payments for voluntarily reducing water consumption while maintaining commodity production. This funding will help conserve up to 50,000 acre-feet in water use across 250,000 acres of irrigated land in production, while expanding and creating new, sustainable market opportunities. The new program, coupled with investments from the Western Water Framework, will support innovative measures for water conservation while building resilience for long-term agricultural production in Colorado and the West.\n\nThe Palisade Irrigation District was selected for the innovative funding opportunity in Colorado.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:41:32Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/2024/08/01/press-releases-id-121d154a-d878-46ad-a792-a0fa7f42e54d/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.6874401587992907, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}