{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.flake.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=4733427a-1f19-4499-ac9c-31cd4f228490", "Bipartisan Senate Coalition Seeks to Advance Western Drought Legislation", "2015-12-16", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "AZ", "Jeff Flake", "F000444", "www.flake.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C.  U.S. Sens. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif) today led a bipartisan coalition of nine western senators in sending a letter to Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee (ENR) Chairman Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) encouraging the committee to advance west-wide drought legislation, a crucial issue affecting millions of people in the western United States.\r\nWe are hopeful that the committee can successfully advance, through regular order, drought legislation that will ultimately be signed into law. We are ready to work with you to achieve that goal, wrote the senators.\r\nThe letter was also signed by U.S. Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M), Dean Heller (R-Nev.), Tom Udall (D-N.M), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah).\r\nThe signed letter can be viewed here.  The full text of the letter can be viewed below.\r\n***\r\nDecember 16, 2015\r\nThe Honorable Lisa Murkowski  Chair  Committee on Energy and Natural Resources  304 Dirksen Senate Office Building  Washington, D.C. 20510-3703\r\nThe Honorable Maria Cantwell  Ranking Member  Committee on Energy and Natural Resources  304 Dirksen Senate Office Building  Washington, D.C. 20510-0203\r\nDear Chair Murkowski and Ranking Member Cantwell:\r\nWe are grateful for your work on drought this year and strongly encourage continued effort on west-wide drought legislation in January. Over the past several months, the Energy and Natural Resources Committee has shown both the desire and capacity to tackle drought head-on, holding three hearings and reporting a number of water and drought-related bills out of committee. We hope that the momentum will continue unabated.\r\nDrought is one of the most significant issues facing our states and the nation. Nearly 75 percent of the Western United States faced drought conditions this year, affecting nearly 93 million Americans, according to the Congressional Research Service. Many western communities, especially in rural areas, continue to struggle to meet their water supply needs. As you are aware, reliable access to water is fundamental to western economies. We stand ready to continue to work with you to meet this challenge.\r\nWe appreciate that under your leadership the committee has been very active in bringing together multiple drought bills and proposals in an effort to address the drought facing our states. We are hopeful that the committee can successfully advance, through regular order, drought legislation that will ultimately be signed into law. We are ready to work with you to achieve that goal.\r\nSincerely,\r\nJEFF FLAKE  United States Senator\r\nDIANNE FEINSTEIN  United States Senator\r\nJOHN MCCAIN  United States Senator\r\nMARTIN HEINRICH  United States Senator\r\nDEAN HELLER  United States Senator\r\nTOM UDALL  United States Senator\r\nSTEVE DAINES  United States Senator\r\nMICHAEL F. BENNET  United States Senator\r\nORRIN HATCH  United States Senator\r\n\r\nBackground: At an October ENR hearing on Western drought, Flake took the opportunity to stress Arizonas water priorities, especially the need to protect water that Arizona has voluntarily left in Lake Mead to prevent a shortage on the Colorado River. Flake also highlighted water-intensive invasive species, forest restoration, and a pilot program for more efficient use of current water storage in reservoirs.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "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.flake.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=4733427a-1f19-4499-ac9c-31cd4f228490"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9852391667664051, "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"}