2014: Schweikert Voted For A California Emergency Drought Proposal That Makes It More Difficult For State And Federal Officials To Make Real-Time Water Decisions And Overrides The Endangered Species Act. In December 2014, Schweikert voted for a proposal attempting to provide temporary relief for California farmers affected by a drought which also undermines state water rights priorities, makes it more difficult for state and federal agencies to make real-time water decisions and explicitly overrides the Endangered Species Act. According to Congressional Quarterly, "This bill takes numerous actions intended to quickly increase the availability of water for agricultural, municipal and industrial users in California's drought-stricken Central Valley, including by requiring that more water from rainstorms early in the state's 'water year' be pumped south to users in the San Joaquin Valley and by requiring the Interior and Commerce departments to approve any emergency projects or operations that would quickly provide additional water to those users." Also according to Congressional Quarterly, "The bill will make it more difficult for state and federal agencies to make real-time water decisions affecting millions of Californians and will favor some groups over others, they argue, by undermining local water rights at the expense of sound environmental policy. The changes made, they say, would place the entire West Coast's environment, tribes, communities and fishing industry in harm's way in the next drought year." The bill passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 230 to 182. The bill died in the Senate. [House Vote 553, 12/9/14; Congressional Quarterly, 12/5/14; Congressional Quarterly, Accessed 9/22/15; Congressional Actions, H.R. 5781]
For Over Three Years, California Has Been In A Severe Drought. According to Congressional Quarterly, "California for the past three years has been gripped by a severe drought, which has resulted in many reservoirs becoming depleted, agricultural producers allowing their lands to lie fallow, thousands of residential wells running dry and some communities limiting residential water delivery. Precipitation in most of the state is less than 20% of normal, and long-range forecasts suggest the dry spell could continue. In January, California Gov. Jerry Brown declared a drought emergency, which allowed the state to request a broad emergency declaration from President Barack Obama, and the president subsequently pledged financial aid." [Congressional Quarterly, 12/5/14]
Supporters Claim That The Bill Would Help Alleviate California's Drought And Fix A Law That Put Animal Species Over California Residents. According to Congressional Quarterly, "Supporters, mainly Republicans, say that while the bill is not a long-term solution to the state's water problems, it does represent a short-term fix allowing a temporary solution while bipartisan negotiations continue in the next Congress. Families, businesses and farmers are in desperate need of a solution to the state's water issues, they say, and need relief now. Current policies put the interests of animal species ahead of Californians, and the bill represents the best chance at providing relief to area residents before Congress adjourns for the year. Sponsors say their work is based on bipartisan negotiations with the Senate and continues to build on those efforts, saying this is a good-faith effort to exhaust every conceivable option available before Congress adjourns for the year." [Congressional Quarterly, 12/5/14]
2018: Schweikert Voted To Remove Federal Endangered Species Protections For The Grey Wolf. In November 2018, Schweikert voted for legislation that, according to Congressional Quarterly, "would direct the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to issue a rule removing the gray wolf from the list of endangered and threatened wildlife, thus removing federal protections for the species, in the 48 contiguous United States. It would also direct the Interior Department to reissue a 2011 rule delisting gray wolves in the Western Great Lakes region of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, and would exempt both rules, and another rule delisting the species in Wyoming, from judicial review." The vote was on passage. The House passed the bill by a vote of 196 to 180. The Senate took no substantive action on the legislation. [House Vote 420, 11/16/18; Congressional Quarterly, 11/16/18; Congressional Actions, H.R. 6748]
2014: Schweikert Voted To Require Data, If Available, From State, Local Tribal And Legislative Be Used To Determine Endangered Species Act Designations. In July 2014, Schweikert voted for a bill that would have, according to Congressional Quarterly, "require the Interior and Commerce departments to make publicly available online the data used as the basis for making a determination to list a species as endangered under the Endangered Species Act and to make that data available to states before making such a determination. The measure includes text of three other bills, one (HR 4316) which would require the public disclosure of litigation fees for lawsuits related to the Endangered Species Act, another measure (HR 4317) that would require that the evidence used to make endangered species determinations includes data provided by state, local and tribal governments and legislation (HR 4318) which would limit the awarding of attorneys' fees when litigants prevail in suing the federal government under laws regarding endangered species." The vote was on passage. The House adopted the bill by a vote of 233 to 190. The bill died in the Senate. [House Vote 463, 7/29/14; Congressional Quarterly, 7/29/14; Congressional Actions, H.R. 4315]