San Francisco Bay Restoration Act

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 610) to amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to establish a grant program to support the restoration of San Francisco Bay, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 610, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I will include in the Record a letter from Chairman John Yarmuth of the House Committee on Budget agreeing to waive consideration of H.R. 610, as amended, as well as Chair DeFazio's response to Mr. Yarmuth expressing appreciation for his willingness to work cooperatively on this legislation.

Madam Speaker, I include in the Record a letter from Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District in support of H.R. 610.

Midpeninsula Regional

Open Space District,

Los Altos, CA, June 10, 2021.

Re H.R. 610--San Francisco Bay Restoration Act--SUPPORT.

Hon. Jackie Speier,

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Dear Representative Speier: On behalf of the Board of

Directors of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District

(Midpen), I write to express our support for your

legislation, H.R. 610, the San Francisco Bay Restoration Act.

Comprised of over 65,000 acres of acquired and protected open

space on the San Francisco Peninsula, Midpen is one of the

largest regional open space districts in California. Our

braided mission is to acquire and preserve in perpetuity open

space and agricultural land of regional significance, to

protect and restore the natural environment, to preserve

rural character and encourage viable agricultural use of land

resources, and to provide opportunities for ecologically

sensitive public enjoyment and education.

As you know, the legislation would prioritize funding for

the San Francisco Bay, a vital resource to our District, the

regional community, and the entire state of California. The

$250 million authorized in the bill would provide critical

federal investment to restoring the Bay's wetlands and

estuaries, assist in the recovery of endangered species, and

help to alleviate the impacts of climate change. We greatly

appreciate the legislation's establishment of this federal

partnership to improve the Bay Area and protect our coastal

community and economy.

For these reasons, the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space

District greatly supports the San Francisco Bay Restoration

Act (H.R. 610). Thank you for your leadership and continued

work on improving the Bay Area. If you have any questions or

would like to further discuss our support, please do not

hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely,

Ana M. Ruiz,

General Manager.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 610. This legislation would create a stand-alone program for the San Francisco Bay within the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in essence elevating restoration efforts of a water body that has been part of the national estuary program since 1993.

This legislation responds to an August 2018 Government Accountability Office report that found a centralized program would improve the existing efforts to restore and protect the San Francisco Bay.

This legislation would authorize $25 million annually for fiscal year 2022 through 2026, with a cap on Federal funding for eligible projects and a cap on administrative expenses. H.R. 610 is supported by the delegation representing the bay and surrounding area, including our committee colleagues Jared Huffman, Mark DeSaulnier, and John Garamendi.

I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 610, and I reserve the balance of my time.

House of Representatives, Committee on Transportation and

Infrastructure,

Washington, DC, June 2, 2021.

Hon. John Yarmuth:

Chair, Committee on the Budget, House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Dear Mr. Yarmuth: Thank you for your letter regarding H.R

610, the San Francisco Bay Restoration Act. I appreciate your

decision to waive formal consideration of the bill.

I agree that the Committee on the Budget has valid

jurisdictional claims to certain provisions in this important

legislation, and I further agree that by forgoing formal

consideration of the bill, the Committee on the Budget is not

waiving any jurisdiction over any relevant subject matter.

Additionally, if requested I will support the appointment of

conferees from the Committee on the Budget should a House-

Senate conference be convened on this legislation. Finally,

this exchange of letters will be included in the

Congressional Record when the bill is considered on the

floor.

Thank you again, and I look forward to continuing to work

collaboratively with the Committee on the Budget on this

important issue.

Sincerely,

Peter A. DeFazio,

Chair.

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Speier).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi).

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her leadership and recognition on this important issue.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this legislation.

I am so proud of Representative Jackie Speier, with whom I have the privilege of corepresenting San Francisco. Jackie Speier has been our champion on San Francisco Bay, and this San Francisco Bay Restoration Act is a vital step to restoring our cherished bay.

It is an honor to be joined in this legislation with other bay area colleagues, Jared Huffman, John Garamendi, Mike Thompson, Jerry McNerney, Mark DeSaulnier, Barbara Lee, Ro Khanna, Anna Eshoo, and Zoe Lofgren. I also thank Senators Dianne

Feinstein and Alex Padilla, who have introduced a Senate companion bill.

Madam Speaker, Members may not know, but the San Francisco Bay is an icon of California and a national treasure: inspiring us with its beauty and its might, enriching our lives with world-class recreation, tourism, and jobs.

The bay area delta, of which it is a part, is also the economic lifeblood of our coast, contributing over $370 billion to our economy each year and supporting more than four million jobs.

As part of the bay-delta estuary, it is a vital part of public health, providing drinking water for millions of Californians, a key force in combating the climate crisis.

But, for centuries, this magnificent estuary has been overexploited and underprotected. Today, 90 percent of the bay area's wetlands have been destroyed, undermining the strength of our coastal economies and communities.

The San Francisco Bay Restoration Act--sponsored and championed by Congresswoman Jackie Speier over many years--would make a long overdue $125 million investment in restoration efforts. It improves coordination from San Francisco to Washington, as it revives our wetlands to protect our coastal communities, improves our water quality, strengthens our climate resilience, including by combating sea level rise.

In 2018, the GAO concluded that a centralized initiative providing improved coordination and communication across efforts, along with dedicated Federal funding, would be the best chance for long-term restoration and protection of this vital geographic area on the West Coast. And this bill introduced by Congresswoman Jackie Speier provides exactly that.

Californians have fought to increase appropriations for the bay area for years, and we are grateful for the support of then-chair Nita Lowey of the Appropriations Committee and the chair of the Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, Betty McCollum. We secured an increase of $3 million in funding for the bay.

Last year, with the support of Transportation and Infrastructure chair Peter DeFazio and, hence, the committee of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, and Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee chair Grace Napolitano, the House passed this Bay Restoration Act by a voice vote, and then again as part of our infrastructure bill, H.R. 2, the Moving Forward Act. Now we want to make it the law of the land.

Our communities and our lives are heavily enriched by the bay-delta estuary. This investment is an economic, health, environmental, and moral imperative.

I urge Members to support it with strong bipartisan support, and I hope that it will be bipartisan on the part of our colleagues on the West Coast, who know the value of the quality of life that the bay estuary project brings to us. I urge a ``yes'' vote.

Madam Speaker, this bill is something I have been working on for 10 years and have introduced in every Congress since I came to Congress. It provides $25 million a year for 5 years.

Over the last 200 years, 90 percent of the bay wetlands have disappeared. They are gone. What is even worse is that in less than 9 years, sea level rise in that region will effectively drown out all of the marshes. The damage will be irreversible.

Over the last 8 years the EPA has invested only $45 million in San Francisco Bay. However, even though it is the largest estuary on the West Coast, Puget Sound received more than $260 million and the Chesapeake Bay received $490 million. That is an unbelievable difference in funding opportunities.

We can't afford to keep pushing this off. The San Francisco Bay supports 4 million jobs and provides 20 million Californians with clean drinking water.

It is the lifeblood of the region and a worthy investment of taxpayer dollars. Every dollar spent on restoration efforts generates $2.10 in economic activity. More funding for the bay is a win-win. It would, in fact, be the right thing to do, the only fair thing to do considering how much more has been spent on other estuaries.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Last Congress we worked together to ensure bipartisan support for several regional water bills, including this one.

H.R. 610 codifies the Environmental Protection Agency's existing restoration work in the San Francisco Bay estuary and establishes a San Francisco Bay program office.

I urge support of this legislation and reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, in closing, I urge support of this bipartisan legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, on June 15, 2022, I voted against bills En Bloc. Had H.R. 610, H.R. 293, H.R. 587, H.R. 1144, H.R. 1921, H.R. 2008, H.R. 2332, H.R. 2545, and H.R. 3642 each received a standalone vote, I would have voted in support of each bill. I opposed the En Bloc because I oppose H.R. 1703.