"It's On" Fresno Congressman Tells Bay Area Democrat

 FRESNO, CA - Congressman Jim Costa (D-Fresno) said today that if Bay Area Congressman George Miller (D-Richmond) wants a war over water allocations, then Costa and his Congressional District will give him one.
 

Friday’s San Francisco Chronicle (link below) quotes Miller promising to push for tougher restrictions on water diversions to farms and cities in the San Joaquin Valley.
 
“We've beat them before and we'll beat them again,” Miller said at the Salmon Summit in Fort Mason.
 
“We have stood up to the bully tactics of extreme environmentalists whose agenda ignores our families and our futures. We’ve made progress. More water will flow to our Valley and George Miller doesn’t like it," Costa said.
 
“Here’s my message to Congressman Miller: We will not back down – not in the Valley and not in Congress.

“If he wants a fight with the Latino community and Valley farmworkers whose futures depend on water allocations, we’ll give him a fight.
 
“If he wants to fight with people whose economy hinges on farms getting a fair share of water, we’ll give him a fight. 
 
“If he is willing to destroy the entire Valley way of life to suit his own ends, he’ll get the fight of a lifetime.
 
“George Miller is a poster boy for polluters whose toxic waste creates stress factors that kill fish upstream while he pushes for water restrictions that solely blame and punish us for dwindling fish populations.
 
“He is the flag carrier for outsiders who are willing to destroy our Valley way of life, our economy and our families.
 
“We will win this fight. We will change misguided policies that place fish ahead of the well-being of Valley families. Water will flow to our Valley. Jobs will return, and our economy will recover," Costa said.
"At the end of the day, this is about our local economy and the food we grow to feed our country. Do we want to be dependent upon Asia and South America for food three times more likely to be contaminated than what we grow and process in America? That's what I am fighting for."