Valadao calls for work on immigration, water

May 10—Rep. David Valadao ranked immigration and water as his top two legislative priorities during a brief online chat Monday in which he emphasized the importance of bipartisanship, especially to a "very purple" district like his.

The Hanford Republican pointed to recent signs of progress on immigration reform but said more focus needs to be put on water storage, conveyance and — at the state level — supply to Central Valley farmers.

Valadao, speaking before Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday expanded a drought-emergency declaration to an additional 39 counties including Kern, said California officials should do more to increase flexibility in the use of water for the benefit of farmers and valley communities that depend on it for household use.

"This drought situation is just getting out of control and obviously our state government's not making our situation any easier for us," he said, adding that visiting the topic in Congress "would be a great start."

Last month Valadao joined other lawmakers in calling on California to declare a statewide drought emergency, which would streamline water transfers and potentially increase the amount of water diverted south to the valley from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

He called for extending the federal WIIN Act, an Obama-administration law promoting investments in water infrastructure. He also said money must be found to make repairs to the Friant-Kern Canal, whose deliveries as far south as Kern County have been severely limited by over-pumping of local groundwater.

Valadao, a member of the powerful House Committee on Appropriations, also expressed concern that congestion at Southern California ports, in addition to inadequate trade deals, are hampering valley agriculture and should be resolved.

He voiced greater optimism about the Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2021, which would give ag employers more labor certainty and provide a pathway to citizenship for farmworkers. He voted in support of the law while another local Republican lawmaker, Rep. Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield, opposed it.

Valadao said based on recent conversations he has had with members of the U.S. Senate, that chamber will likely begin discussing the bill soon. He called the topic of immigration "obviously very important" to the Central Valley.

His tone was less pessimistic on the topic of partisanship. Since returning to Washington, D.C. after losing an election in 2018 to Democratic challenger T.J. Cox, Valadao said political lines have only hardened and that "it seems like both sides are going further and further into their corners."

Monday's mid-morning discussion went on about half an hour. It was hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and was joined by Nick Ortiz, president and CEO of the Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce, who toward the end of the event told Valadao, "Let us know how we can be helpful."