{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://calvert.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=397400", "Rep. Calvert Joins California Colleagues in Introducing Water Legislation", "2014-12-03", "2014", "2014-12", "Republican", "House", "CA", "Ken Calvert", "C000059", "calvert.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Yesterday, Congressman Ken Calvert (CA-42) joined a bipartisan group of California lawmakers in introducing H.R. 5781, the California Emergency Drought Relief Act of 2014, which would provide short- term relief from California\u2019s water crisis.\r\n\u00a0\r\n\u201cThe recent rain storms and California\u2019s inability to effectively capture and store the rain water, highlight the need for Congress to act and pass common sense legislation that will provide some relief to our long-term drought,\u201d said Rep. Calvert.\u00a0 \u201cHouse Republicans have repeatedly demonstrated that we are ready to find solutions to benefit the entire state, not just parochial parties. What we introduced in this temporary bill is a compromise, based on the Senate\u2019s water legislation, again showing our willingness to find consensus between the two chambers.\u00a0 We must act this Congress to provide some level of benefit to water users.\u00a0 Beyond doing just that, H.R.5781 also serves as a starting point towards building a permanent, comprehensive solution to address our state\u2019s water supply issues. I hope the House and the Senate can act quickly on this legislation.\u201d\r\n\u00a0\r\nH.R. 5781 was introduced by Rep. David Valadao (CA-21).\u00a0 In addition to Rep. Calvert, original cosponsors of the legislation include Reps. Kevin McCarthy (CA-23), Jim Costa (CA-16), Doug LaMalfa (CA-01), Tom McClintock (CA-04), and Devin Nunes (CA-22).\r\n\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\r\nHR 5781 CA Emergency Drought Relief Summary\r\n\u00a0\r\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Maximizing Delta Exports for Central and Southern California:\u00a0 Sets Old & Middle River pumping rates at -5,000 cubic feet per second, while allowing Federal regulatory agencies the discretion to reduce pumping under certain instances.\u00a0 This provision would help bring water that is desperately needed to Central and Southern California.\r\n\u00a0\r\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Capture Storm Water Runoff Moving Through the Delta\u00a0:\u00a0 Authorizes Federal agencies to increase Old & Middle River pumping rates during the first few storms of the water year.\u00a0 This provision would help bring water that is desperately needed to Central and Southern California.\r\n\u00a0\r\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Promoting Federal Water Storage Projects in California:\u00a0 Requires the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to report to Congress in 1 year of enactment of this Act on the status of feasibility reports for various Federal water storage projects in California that have been pending for years.\u00a0 Increasing storage in California would allow for the capture of more water during wet years to store for use during dry years.\r\n\u00a0\r\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Sacramento Valley Contractors:\u00a0 \u00a0Includes language on water allocations for Sacramento Valley water contractors.\r\n\u00a0\r\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Holding Federal Regulatory Agencies Accountable: Requires Federal regulatory agencies to report to Congress every\u00a090 days following enactment of this Act on its implementation.\r\n\u00a0\r\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Protections for Federal, State, Northern, Central and Southern California Water Contractors:\u00a0 Includes provisions to protect State Water Project contractors, Area of Origin water rights holders, and preserves the existing water rights priority systems in California and Federal law.\u00a0 Also includes language that prevents any adverse redirected impacts to any water contractor in California resulting from implementation of this Act.\r\n\u00a0\r\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Immediate Emergency Relief:\u00a0 Provisions in this bill expire on September 30, 2016, or when the gubernatorial drought declaration is rescinded, whichever occurs later.\r\n\u00a0\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": ["http://calvert.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=397400"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6214139759540558, "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"}