House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy announced a deal to include a long-stalled drought measure inside a water projects bill that is poised to clear Congress as early as this week.
But at least one top Democrat in the Senate says she will try to block passage.
The deal, which is aimed at bringing water to drought-stricken areas of California, came after negotiations with Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., McCarthy said. Feinstein has in the past opposed the drought bill.
“After years of hard work with countless constituencies, Congress is ready to pass a California water deal,” McCarthy said. “This legislation will bring more water to our communities and supports critical storage projects.”
Feinstein said she is backing the drought provision in part because in a GOP-led Congress and White House next year, the measure could be rewritten in a way that could undo protections under the Endangered Species Act.
“This bill isn’t perfect but I do believe it will help California and it has bipartisan support including Republicans and Democrats in the House, and that’s why I’m supporting it,” Feinstein said in a statement. “After three years and dozens of versions of legislation, I think this is the best we can do. If we don’t move now, we run the real risk of legislation that opens up the Endangered Species Act in the future, when Congress will again be under Republican control, this time backed by a Trump administration.”
McCarthy’s announcement of the deal followed a threat by Sen. Barbara Boxer, the top Democrat on the environmental panel.
Boxer, a fellow Californian, called the provision “a last minute poison pill rider” and said she would work to thwart its passage.
Boxer said the provision would undermine the Endangered Species Act, threaten fishery jobs and remove congressional authority over new dam construction.
“This bill won’t go anywhere in the Senate if I have anything to do with it,” said Boxer, who is retiring at the end of the year.
McCarthy and Feinstein have been trying for months to agree on a bill to address California’s longstanding drought problem.
At one point last year, McCarthy claimed to have a deal with Feinstein on bill language, but she announced she was opposed to it.
The clash between the two parties has centered on how to bring water to the San Joaquin Valley without further endangering the dwindling Delta smelt.
The agreement would reroute some of the water to the valley, instead of the Pacific Ocean, as well as enable the construction of dams and desalination plants.
