Wednesday, 11/04/2009 Print Version |
Governor Schwarzenegger Applauds Passage of Historic Comprehensive Water Package
But we also have behind us here an interesting group of people which is a combination of Democrats and Republicans, northern Californians, southern Californians, rural, urban, business leaders and business people, labor, farmers, environmentalists, farm workers, water agencies, the Latino Water Coalition and the list goes on and on and on. So I just wanted to basically say thank you to the legislative leaders and to the legislators and everyone behind me that has worked so hard on this water infrastructure package.
I'm so excited that finally my vision is one step closer to becoming a reality, which is to fix our water infrastructure. This is, without any doubt, the most comprehensive water infrastructure package that was passed here at 6:00 o'clock in the morning, the greatest package and most comprehensive in the history of California. And this is an $11 billion package that will be leveraged against an additional $30 billion. That is altogether a $40 billion project.
And this is something that is very badly needed for the state of California and this was part of our infrastructure proposal, of our Strategic Growth Plan in 2006 in my State of the State Address. But at that point the legislature only wanted to do part of it, which was transportation, education, affordable housing and fixing the levees. The two things that were left out at that point were the infrastructure of prisons and also the infrastructure, our water infrastructure.
Well, the water infrastructure was the last piece of the puzzle that was missing. And I think by six o'clock this morning we finally got this piece, to become part of this whole puzzle and we are very happy about that. As you know, this has been a huge problem, that the infrastructure that was built five decades ago by Pat Brown was for 18 million people. We are, in the meantime, 38 million people and we are going to be eventually, in the next 15 years, 50 million people and this project will take that long in order to get it completed.
So again, I just want to congratulate everyone here for this historic accomplishment and I want to just let also the people of California -- you know, they can be very proud of the legislators, because I know that a lot of times the people feel like they are not doing enough. But this was one of the great, great accomplishments and I want to congratulate them.
And I want to hand it over to Senator Steinberg to say a few words, please, who has been a terrific partner. I want to thank you, because you have worked very, very hard on this. And this was truly a shuttle diplomacy, going up and down, from the top down to our office and back up again and all this. So you have brought everyone together. Thank you very much.
SENATOR STEINBERG: Thank you. Thank you very much, Governor, for your leadership and your commitment to not only the issue of water but to infrastructure here in California. It is so important and it was my honor to partner with you. I also want to thank my fellow legislative leaders who are here today, Senator Hollingsworth, Senator Cogdill, Assemblymember Blakeslee and Speaker Bass as well, for showing ourselves and the people of California that we can, in fact, take the biggest, most unsolvable problem in California and actually solve it. And I'm very proud of not only the leaders but all of my colleagues who are here today and all of my colleagues who participated in this tremendous breakthrough.
I also want to do just a very quick thank you and shout out to the leaders in the environmental community who stuck with us through thick and thin; the Nature Conservancy, the Audubon Society, the NRDC, the CLCV and the Environmental Defense Fund. None of this was easy. If it was easy it would have gotten done a long time ago. And there are always difficult choices and compromises but you stuck with us because there are tremendous gains for the environment in this entire package.
Briefly, this is something that legislatures for decades have tried to take on and have been unable to do so. This legislature took it on and we were successful. And of the many things that are important about this package, there's one that sticks out to me. In a struggling economy this package is going to create the opportunity for hundreds of thousands of high-wage jobs in this state. And boy, we need it. We may differ a little bit about how to stimulate the economy as we debate various matters of public policy upstairs but on this we can use the public fist to get out there and help create jobs in a way that also dramatically improves our water infrastructure in California. I can't think of a better or more important thing to do.
Let me introduce the leader of the Republican caucus and my partner throughout this, one of my couple of partners in addition to Senator Cogdill but the Minority Leader Senator Dennis Hollingsworth.
SENATOR HOLLINGSWORTH: Thank you, Senator Steinberg. On behalf of Senate Republicans I too want to make a few remarks that lend our comments to the historic nature of what has just occurred here this morning in this legislature. This is truly a comprehensive package that has taken decades to be able to come to this point of resolution.
But there are a couple of things that I do want to say, to add my words of thanks to my colleague over on the Assembly side, Assembly Republican Leader Sam Blakeslee and to Speaker Karen Bass for their exemplary work in this matter. But there are three folks that I want to call particular attention to and high praise to, that we all should recognize.
First, that is the gentleman who preceded me and that is Senator Steinberg, who began this year with the lofty goal of solving the water crisis. And he was met with some skepticism, I have to say, not the least of which by yours truly, as to whether it could actually be done. His leadership throughout this year and his drive and determination and vision to get that done has exemplified the type of tenacity that it took to get this done and he is to be highly praised for that.
The next person that I, of course, have to call out for exemplary praise is our governor. Governor Schwarzenegger, you began this several years ago with the package in 2006. That vision and that leadership and that multiple years of tenacity to make sure that this came to fruition -- along with your partner in this, who I will introduce in just a moment -- that was something that now we are seeing has come to resolution in the legislative process. And I can tell you that as this comes to full fruition generations of Californians will look back to you, Governor and to this next speaker and to Senator Steinberg and they will have you to thank for a safe, a reliable and a clean water supply for those generations that are coming after us.
The third person that deserves high praise for his tenacity for over three years of leadership on this issue is Senator Dave Cogdill, whose bond this is. Please welcome him. (Applause)
I, too, want to thank my colleagues in this effort, certainly Senator Steinberg and the vision and the roadmap that he set out at the beginning of the year. I too was somewhat of a skeptic, having been involved in this as long as I have. But he was true to his word, we worked very hard and we are very happy to be here today.
Senator Hollingsworth, I can't praise him more for all of the hard work he's done, over the last 30 to 60 days especially, every day working very hard to get us to this point and that's the only way we were able to do it.
I also want to acknowledge Assemblywoman Anna Caballero for all the hard work that she's done in the Assembly to partner with us and to bring this home. Obviously, we were working in two Houses of the legislature and it's important that we get as many folks on board as possible to make this happen. And she certainly has been very helpful in that effort, I want to commend her on that.
Again, I want to thank all of the people that have come together in this coalition; the Latino Water Coalition and all the hard work that they've done and Paul Rodriguez, bringing his fame and notoriety to the process certainly has been helpful and it's really enabled us to come together in this way to synergize around this very important issue and get this done.
At this point it's my opportunity to introduce someone that has been very, very involved and has done a great job in, again, bringing this day about and that's Assembly Republican Leader Sam Blakeslee. Sam? (Applause)
ASSEMBLYMEMBER BLAKESLEE: Thank you, Governor and thank you Susan. I want to thank all of the leaders who contributed, including the very, I think, dedicated staff who put in hours over weekends, over late, late nights, to get us to a place where the end was in sight. People oftentimes criticize California because governance is so challenging but the difficulties we face are largely based on our greatness. We're a great state which is diverse beyond any other state, with interests that are unlike those to our east and to our north and that makes for challenges.
And that's why I am so proud about what we are achieving here today, because we are representing solutions, whether they address the farmer in the Delta who is concerned about their rights as a farmer, or it's dealing with the fragile estuary and the fact that we have crashing populations and we need to protect that ecosystem for all Californians. We've got a far-reaching vision for how we'll provide more water through storage solutions and we also have very specific answers for people in southern California that need to deal with the challenges of not having water readily available and biotech firms that could leave the state if we don't act quickly. We're a diverse state; we've created a solution that works for all Californians and it happened, I think, because of the diversity of the people you see in front of you here.
And I want to in particular thank Karen Bass, who is not here today, who has just been a phenomenal speaker, has been a real hero of finding ways for us to work together and I think she deserves special tribute today.
I'd like to introduce Anna Caballero.
ASSEMBLYMEMBER CABALLERO: Thank you, Sam. (Applause) Thank you very much. I am going to add my profuse thanks to the Governor for making this a priority during his administration, for keeping us at the table and encouraging us to come to a resolution. I also want to recognize Speaker Karen Bass for her leadership in the Assembly. She had the wisdom to create a number of opportunities for us to have public hearings, for us to be able to talk bipartisan, bicameral and I'm very honored that she chose me as one of the negotiators to try to craft the package that we passed last night in the wee hours of the morning. But for that leadership but for that vision, we wouldn't be here today. I'd also like to recognize Senator Steinberg, who was tireless, fearless, made people come together and get over their differences and try to figure out what common ground we had. And finally, I'd like to recognize the Republican leadership for their wisdom in allowing us to continue a process which at a number of points looked like we weren't going to get there.
And we, I think, crafted a solution that is going to provide opportunities, benefits, for every single hydrologic region in the state of California. And that's important, because our work is not done. We finalized the bill package last night but now we have to go out to the voters and we have to convince them that this bond, that will allow us to finance all of the projects that are part of trying to create opportunities for potable clean drinking water, available all over the state when you want it -- it's going to be a challenge but it's an opportunity as well.
And finally, what I'd like to do is to thank the Latino Water Coalition, which came together over the past two years and really elevated the issue to the rest of our membership, because you don't get anywhere with great leadership unless you can bring your members along. And they brought the issues of what happens when you don't have water, what's the financial impact, what's the human toll, what happens to agriculture and communities. And they brought it forward and they coalesced the Latino legislative caucus within our legislature and brought us along as well. And so I want to thank them, because without their leadership and without their assistance it would have been very, very difficult for us to explain the magnitude of the loss of water to people who don't see it day to day and have to deal with it in their own communities.
So this is a historic moment. We're not done, we still have a lot more work to do. But I think the fact that you see so many diverse groups here today really speaks to the coalition that was built over time with the help of many, many people that are not here today. So I want to thank them all, because without their help it would not have been possible.
GOVERNOR: Thank you. Let me just say again also that I want to thank the staff of all the members and my staff and especially Susan Kennedy, my chief of staff, who has been absolutely extraordinary. And this was one of her pet projects and she deserves a big, big applause. (Applause) I know that she hates that.
SUSAN KENNEDY: (Inaudible) Lester Snow now.
GOVERNOR: Exactly. (Laughter) Very nice. Anyway and also I just want to quickly say the reason why we call this the most comprehensive package is because if you think about it, this will build water storage, above-the-ground and below-the-ground water storage. This will build the canal in order to protect the Delta. This will fix the Delta, the ecosystem of the Delta. This will get into groundwater monitoring, because it's just the same way as we have done surface water monitoring. It will deal with water rights. It will deal with all kinds of issues and this is why it took a long time to negotiate, it's very complicated. But it's really the most comprehensive package that -- we didn't even dream about this kind of a package in 2006 when I first talked about that we have to have water infrastructure. So for decades, like I said, this was a big battle, like a holy war, I called it, in the water field and now finally it was done.
And the important thing I want to mention also is that this is a very bold vision we have put forward here and this vision can only become a reality when this goes on the ballot and the people approve this measure and these bonds. And the people have been great partners in the past. The people overwhelmingly approved in 2006 our infrastructure package and they overwhelmingly approved also the high-speed rail just last year. So I know that the people will be with us in this but you will see Democrats and Republicans traveling up and down the state to have town hall meetings, to talk about this issue and to educate the people of California why this is the most important thing.
So with that I want to open it up, if you have any questions about this, please. Yes, I can see you. I never miss you.
QUESTIONS/ANSWERS:
QUESTION: I have two questions. Do you want the water question first or the non-water question first?
GOVERNOR: I'll leave it up to you.
QUESTION: OK. First of all, with the water project in mind and John Garamendi heading to Washington D.C., your next maybe big job is to appoint a lieutenant governor. Who is on you list? And if you won't answer that, what kind of candidate are you looking for?
GOVERNOR: Well, first of all, let me just say that as soon as I make up my mind you, the press, will be the first ones to know. As soon as -- we will let you know. (Laughter) Second question?
QUESTION: My water question is, do you see this water plan as part of your legacy and how big (Inaudible) legacy?
GOVERNOR: Well, to be honest with you, I spent a lot of time in my life thinking about myself, (Laughter) how to build my body and how to build my career and how to build my millions of dollars and all of those things. This is not about me. This is about California, this is about California's future. This is so much bigger than any of us is here, so much bigger, because we are dealing here with something where we can truly look the people in the eye and say we're not just going to provide water for you, safe and reliable water for the future 10 years from now, 15 years from now. We're talking about 50, 60, 70 years from now. So that is what is so important here. So this is really huge and that's why I say it is historic, the kind of accomplishment that was achieved at 6:00 o'clock this morning.
QUESTION: Governor?
GOVERNOR: Yes.
QUESTION: Here in the center.
GOVERNOR: I can see you and I can hear you.
QUESTION: Thank you. Honestly speaking, is your legacy important enough that you've been willing to sign off on an $11 billion bond for a package that doesn't guarantee above-ground storage, which you had demanded originally?
GOVERNOR: I think that what is so great about this comprehensive infrastructure package is and this water package, is that we not only fix the Delta and its ecosystem but we also build infrastructure, which is the canal around the Delta and also above-the ground and below the ground water storage. So there will be a lot of infrastructure built. And may I remind you, this is the best investment in the future of California that anyone can make. OK?
Next one. Yes, there's one more in the back here. Please.
QUESTION: Governor, how can voters support this package when you passed it in the middle of the night and the -- so the pork, so-called pork, inserted in there including (Inaudible) pulled out?
GOVERNOR: Are you talking about -- I don't know what you're talking about, because the end package does not have any pork whatsoever, so I don't know what you're talking about.
QUESTION: Late in the evening the bill, as it was being drafted, contained -- was amended and contained -- and these projects were added for various counties and for various projects. So the tab grew from 9 billion to 11 billion. So how can the voters take on something like this at a time when they're still feeling the pinch and how can they be sure that all the money will be spent well?
GOVERNOR: Well, first of all, as you know, I'm not as interested in the process as in the end result. So throughout the process we went from 8 billion to 12 billion, to 9 billion, to 11 billion, back to 9 billion and back up to 11 billion. So I think this is maybe something interesting for the journalists but it definitely is not as interesting to me. To me always what's interesting is the result and the result was a great, great package of approximately $11 billion.
And the reason why an extra $1 billion was added is because everyone here felt very strongly that the groundwater monitoring and also cleaning the groundwater was extremely important. We have a really serious problem in California with our water and we've got to get rid of those chemicals. And I think that this is a wise investment, to really clean the water in order to provide a healthy future.
QUESTION: Governor?
GOVERNOR: Yes.
QUESTION: The inspector general --
GOVERNOR: But hold on just a second. I would like to also have Senator Steinberg answer that question. (Laughter)
STEINBERG: And take out any question. Really, when you look at the additions that were made in the Assembly, what the major bulk of that resource was was an additional $500 million for groundwater cleanup and an additional $500 million for recycling and conservation. Those are essential investments for California.
I would remind you as well on the general obligation bond, we're all very aware of the fiscal circumstances. But there's a specific provision that says only half the bonds can be sold before 2015 and so we're going to manage this, if you will.
And I also believe that one of the ways we improve our budget, as I said earlier, is to stimulate the economy and create high-wage jobs. That's the way we're going to, you know, create more taxpayers.
And finally, I would just say that it is about infrastructure but it is about so much more. It is about dramatically improving the environment, whether it is restoring the Delta ecosystem, whether it is the highest levels of environmental review for all the projects that will happen, whether it is the conservation bill, 20 percent here in California, whether it's groundwater monitoring. The reason why this is so significant is because it is so comprehensive. Thank you.
GOVERNOR: Thank you very much, everybody. Have a good day. Thank you.
