The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday unanimously passed legislation introduced to bring relief to farmers and ranchers in the Klamath Basin.
The measure, entitled the Klamath Basin Emergency Operation and Maintenance Refund Act of 2001, would refund about $4 million spent by irrigation districts in the Klamath Reclamation Project for operations and maintenance.
This bill provides critical relief to the farmers and ranchers of the Klamath Basin and paves the way to put money in the pockets of the hard-working people who need it most, said Rep. Greg Walden, who introduced the measure.
He said the bill, co-sponsored by Reps. Peter DeFazio and Darlene Hooley, resulted from the testimony heard at a congressional field hearing held in Klamath Falls in June.
The bill âprovides both a measure of fairness and a measure of emergency relief, Walden said. It puts money back in the hands of the farmers who so desperately need it.
The Senate must approve the bill before it is sent to President Bush for his consideration.
The bill authorizes the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to return or waive fees paid by irrigation districts for the operation and maintenance of Klamath Reclamation Project canals.
To qualify for payments, a district must have a water-supply contract with the bureau for water from Upper Klamath Lake and the Klamath River. Qualifying districts must have gotten a limited amount of water this year and can't have received refund payments from other sources.
Irrigation districts then are required to return the savings to their customers.
If our senate rejects this bill, we should reject them with pitchforks! The problem with the senate, is that so many like Dasshole are controlled by the enviralists.
I wonder how much of this four-million-dollar pittance is going to be eaten up administering the grants.
Farmer BUMP!