[Page H2722]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 THANKING THE ADMINISTRATION FOR DISASTER RELIEF IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

  (Mr. LaMALFA asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, 25 months ago, we saw the crisis in 
Oroville, California, of the broken spillway at Oroville Dam, belonging 
to the State water project. Thankfully, emergency services were able to 
come in and, as soon as possible, get things functioning once again for 
the safety of the flood control as well as the storage and the 
hydroelectricity that is produced there.
  We had much help that came from FEMA; and I want to say thank you to 
the folks at FEMA, this administration, and Secretary Nielsen for being 
on the spot in helping with this restoration process. $333 million have 
flowed to helping the crisis at the spillway be restored to a working 
spillway.
  Now, there are those who are clamoring for even more money, but that 
lies on the backs of the State of California and the DWR for the extra 
money, bringing it up to $1.1 billion.
  The State of California claims it is in a surplus situation, and it 
needs to pay its own bills and put the money aside to take care of the 
project--not the other 49 States--for the nonemergency part of the 
project.
  So, again, thanks to FEMA for their attention to this, as well as the 
wildfire situation we had in Paradise, California, for helping us in 
northern California.

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