Tri-City Herald Editorial Talks About the Changing Climate and Water

Our Voice: Water storage projects still vital for Mid-Columbia

June 27, 2014

New water storage in the Yakima Basin is something Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., has been working on for years. In February, Hastings proposed a portion of the funding Congress approves for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation be set aside to pay for new and expanded capacity for water storage in the Yakima Basin.

This week, a bipartisan vote of the U.S. House Appropriations Committee approved a bill including language that encourages the Bureau of Reclamation to join its funding with the state for projects we can't do on our own. The new bill eventually will go to a full House vote.

This week's step is a small one, but it's an important project for the future of Eastern Washington. And Doc won't be there to carry the banner in the future. Our next representative from the 4th Congressional District must take up the charge. So must our two senators.

This year, we narrowly avoided a water shortage. Thanks to a significant late-season snowfall in the Cascades, we have enough water for all stakeholders to get what they need. But without those big storms, we would be feeling the effects of a drought. We have had, and will continue to have, dry years.

Users with junior water rights come out on the losing end of that proposition every time. But nobody really wins. Water is vital for the Yakima Basin for everything from agriculture to fish.

The Bureau of Reclamation is the arm of federal government charged with overseeing the delivery of water. In some ways, the hands of the bureau are tied by history and legislative red tape. Water needs and methods of storage and delivery continue to evolve, yet the bureau is not free to adopt new strategies at will. Even ideas that seem to be obvious improvements need congressional approval. For example, Hastings also introduced legislation that would allow irrigation districts to voluntarily repay federal obligations early. He added the stipulation that the money would be put into a new account to be used only to build new water storage or to expand existing water storage reservoirs. Currently, to repay money early, a water district must get a bill signed into federal law. Five water districts have done that in the past decade.

We are a mecca for crops and agriculture. Without water storage and reclamation projects, we revert to dusty desert. Our climate is changing, and we can no longer count on winter snowfall to see us through the summer. Water storage is important to us now and will be even more so in the future.
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COMMENT
The Washington Department of Ecology addresses declining water resources due to global warming on its web page, where they point out that, "Warmer temperatures mean more precipitation will fall as rain, not snow, and more snow will melt earlier in the spring. Much of Washington’s water supply is stored in snow pack and glaciers that melt into rivers. As this stored snow recedes to higher elevations, less will be available to feed rivers. Too much water runoff (melted snow) through early spring when it's not needed will not help in summer when it is needed." Establishing additional capacity for water storage is a good idea. However, Hastings, like most of his Republican colleagues isn't addressing the root cause of the problem, i.e., climate change. Many conservatives are joining with Democrats to urge Congress to implement a revenue neutral carbon tax, such as that proposed by the Citizens' Climate Lobby, in order to move our economy away from fossil fuels and reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that are contributing to global warming (see Hank Paulson's op-ed in the WSJ, for example). Hastings needs to get on board with that proposal.

Doc Hastings -- Common Sense for Congress?

Prior to the impasse over reopening the government after the Republican manufactured shutdown, a majority of House members went on record saying that if given the opportunity to vote, they would support a "clean" continuing resolution.

According to the standing rules of the House, any member could have brought the CR to the floor, a vote would have been taken, and the shutdown would have ended early, or perhaps avoided altogether. Much of the damage to the economy and to people’s lives could have been prevented.

However, on the eve of the shutdown, the House Rules Committee slipped through a resolution (H. Res. 368) denying members their long-standing privilege and giving that right exclusively to House Majority Leader, Eric Cantor, R-VA.

This was a shameless attempt by Republicans, pressured by their TEA Party caucus, to undermine the Nation’s democratic processes. Only nine House Republicans had the courage to vote against this travesty. Doc Hastings (R-WA) was not one of them. Doc Hastings, who was elected to represent a district (WA-4th) whose very existence as a viable economic entity depends mightily on the federal government, abandoned the interests of his constituents and bowed to the more extreme elements of the Republican Party.

Common Sense for Congress? Hardly.

Speaking Up For Democracy

It was a small gathering of people willing to assemble at the offices of Representative Doc Hastings (R-WA) to voice their opposition to the Republican government shutdown, and Republican efforts to sabotage democracy. Hastings wasn't there, but NBC/KNDU "Right Now" News was there, took video, and interviewed a few people, including me. I spoke about the Republican-led House passing House Resolution 368, which prevents anyone but Eric Cantor or his designee from bringing a Continuing Resolution bill to floor. My little speech didn't make it off the cutting room floor, but a young man named Nik Foster gave a very good interview on the absurdity of Republicans shutting down a government that essentially keeps the Tri-Cities humming.

Mary Wilcox (with sign), who organized the event on behalf of Moveon.org

Nik Foster speaks about how the Republican shutdown effects Hanford and the Tri-Cities 

Mary Wilcox, the woman who sponsored the event, admitted that she was out of her element as a political organizer, but she overcame whatever trepidations she may have had and soldiered on. She did her civic duty because she felt strongly about how democracy should work, and about how the Republicans in congress were undermining the democratic process. Good on her!

People at the event talked mostly about the shutdown, but there were also comments about Senate Republicans abuse of the filibuster. One held up a sign saying, "Let Them Vote," and another saying, "Stop the Madness."

One man spoke angrily, characterizing Republican tactics as "sedition," a view expounded upon recently by the journalist, Andrew Reinbach of the Huffington Post. Whether Republican actions are sedition or not would have to be argued by someone more versed in law than I am, but what they're doing undoubtedly falls under the definition of extortion, i.e., "an oppressive misuse of the power with which the law clothes a public officer."

We cannot allow this abuse of power to succeed. And come election 2014, the people that did this must be held accountable, including "What's Up Doc" Hastings.

Hastings Responds

On December 17, 2012, I emailed a letter to my Congressional Representative, Doc Hastings (R-WA4), concerning the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in which 20 children and 6 adults were killed. His response follows:

Dr. Richard V. Badalamente
3302 West 42nd Place
Kennewick, Washington 99337

Dear Richard:

Thank you for contacting me regarding your support for gun control measures. I appreciate you making me aware of your views on this issue.

Let me begin by saying that my thoughts and prayers are with the victims and families affected by the tragic shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School. In the wake of tragic acts of gun violence such as this, there have been attempts in Congress to enact additional gun laws. However, I cannot in good conscience vote to impose further, unnecessary restrictions on law-abiding citizens who legally own guns or who want to obtain them through legal means. Instead, we should be taking additional steps to ensure that gun laws already on the books are effectively and regularly enforced.

Again, thank you for contacting me. Please do not hesitate to do so in the future on any matter of importance to you.

Sincerely, Doc Hastings Member of Congress

Republican Richard 'Doc' Hastings Pulls the Euthanasia Rabbit Out of the Hat

The congressman for my district, District 4 in eastern Washington State, is Richard 'Doc' Hastings. Hastings, despite his nickname, is no doctor. His biography says he, "studied business administration at Columbia Basin College and at Central Washington University." Doc's lack of medical expertise hasn't stopped him from waxing poetic on health care reform. Like his fellow Republicans, Doc is against anything the Democrats may be for. At a Tri-City Regional Chamber of Commerce lunch on Wednesday, August 12th, Hastings responded to a question about how health care reform proposals will affect seniors by saying, "The biggest issue is the euthanasia part of this. If they are mandated to have euthanasia consulting ... I'm not for anything mandatory." You mean like seat belts, Doc?

The fact that there is no "euthanasia" consulting, mandatory or otherwise, seems to have escaped Doc's notice. Republicans, looking for things to scare us poor old folks with, found a provision on end-of-life care counseling in Section 1233 in the health bill passed by three House committees. The original provision on end-of-life planning was inserted in the Social Security Act by George H. W. Bush in 1990, and covered things like living wills, and durable powers of attorney, only meeting with a doctor to discuss such matters wasn't covered for seniors under Medicare. The new health care bill would have Medicare cover it. Scary, huh?

Where you hear Republicans coming up with this kind of malarky, you've got to ask,