Amendment to Kaweah Project Provision

Floor Speech

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Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1044) to amend Public Law 99-338 with respect to Kaweah Project permits.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 1044

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. AMENDMENT TO KAWEAH PROJECT PROVISION.

The first section of Public Law 99-338, as amended by Public Law 108-447, is amended--

(1) by striking ``3 renewals'' and inserting ``7 renewals''; and

(2) by striking ``of Southern California Edison Company''.

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Mr. WESTERMAN. 1044, the bill now under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of Representative Valadao's bill, H.R. 1044.

This bill is a commonsense measure to ensure the continued operation of existing hydroelectric facilities, which have provided reliable and affordable power to Californians over a century.

The bill authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to issue four 10- year renewals for a special use permit for the Kaweah Hydroelectric Project, thereby extending the project's life for up to 40 additional years.

These hydroelectric dams, located on the Kaweah and East Fork Kaweah Rivers, fall within the boundaries of Sequoia National Park, but they predate the park's expansion and have long been recognized by Congress as a valuable energy asset.

With the current statutory authorization for the permits set to expire in 2026, this bill provides much-needed certainty for the continued operation of a critical source of reliable energy. Without an extension, Southern California Edison will be forced to remove this infrastructure at enormous expense to their ratepayers.

I thank Representative Valadao for his leadership on this issue. By championing this bill, he is ensuring that more than 15 million people in California have access to affordable, reliable, and clean energy for generations to come.

Mr. Speaker, I support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, this is a straightforward, commonsense bill. In the world we live in today, where we have more and more electrical energy demand, it makes no sense to be closing down any kind of electrical generation, especially one where the infrastructure is already built, working, and producing reliable and affordable baseload power.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support Representative Valadao's legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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