House Committee on Science
Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY), Chairman
Bart Gordon (D-TN), Ranking Minority Member
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Joe Pouliot, Zachary Kurz
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
202-225-4275
HOUSE PASSES BOEHLERT-BACKED BILL TO MITIGATE
COSTLY DROUGHTS
Bill Would Aid NY Apple Growers, Farmers
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly this morning to pass a bill cosponsored by Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert (R-New Hartford) that would mitigate the serious effects of droughts, which greatly harmed New York's apple industry four years ago, and which every year destroy wide swaths of the nation's cropland and drain billions of dollars from the U.S. economy.
"In the wake of the recent floods we've faced, it might seem hard to believe that drought has threatened and will continue to threaten the economic prosperity of our area's farmers and produce growers," Boehlert said. "But like nearly every corner of this nation, Upstate New York has felt the devastating effects of this environmental disaster. Just four years ago, for example, New York apple growers faced expensive and debilitating drought. And they will surely face it again.
"The bill we passed today will give apple growers, farmers and water resource managers here in NY and across the nation the tools they need to prepare for and respond to drought situations."
According to the Federal Drought Monitor, in the past year almost 90 percent of the Continental United States experienced some degree of "abnormal dryness" with over half of the country having experienced severe drought or worse. Forty-five states were impacted by drought; 36 faced severe to extreme drought, resulting in billions of dollars in damage.
The bill passed by the House, H.R. 5136, National Integrated Drought Information System Act of 2006, would build upon existing federal programs to establish a coordinated federal effort to more accurately monitor and predict costly droughts. The bill has been endorsed by officials representing Western states, water resource agencies, and farming interests.
Boehlert continued, "Losses due to drought are not inevitable. With better forecasting of coming droughts water managers can change reservoir release schedules and water restrictions, farmers can choose crops with lower water demands and change the timing of high-water use crops, forest managers can pre-position water and fire-fighting assets to reduce the likelihood of devastating fires, and waterway managers can alter water releases and dredging activities to maintain open waterways and allow barge and shipping traffic to pass. Managers of animal stocks can budget for increased feed costs and can sell excess stock early when prices are still high, and energy providers can manage reservoir and fuel levels to minimize electricity costs due to reduced hydro-power capacity."
H.R. 5136 would establish a National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) that would help decision makers better prepare for drought periods by expanding monitoring and data collection systems to include coordinated, comprehensive coverage of key indicators such as soil moisture and ground water; implementing an integrated data collection and dissemination system; and developing effective and useful tools to support analysis and decision making at all levels and geographic scales.
A nearly identical Senate companion bill, S. 2751, will be considered by the Senate Commerce Committee tomorrow.
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