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Good afternoon. This afternoon what I wanted to do was to come here
to California and to announce what we are doing with respect to the investment of the
1 billion dollars that we received for the Bureau of Reclamation
in water projects.
A very significant portion of that will go to jump start
the economy here in California, will invest in the
water infrastructure of this state.
The drought is a stark reminder that California's water system - much of it built half a century
ago
for a population that was half as large as it is today - has reached its limits.
Throughout our history Americans have turned times
of crisis into moments of opportunity that is what
we must do today. It is time to modernize, it is
time to make hard choices, and it is time for the
federal government to re-engage in full partnership with the 21st century water system.
That is why the Department of the Interior, through one of the agencies that we oversee,
the Bureau of Reclamation, is immediately investing
in America's water infrastructure as part of
President Obama's economic recovery plan.
President Obama asked me to be Secretary of the Interior
and when we were working on putting together a
stimulus package he was very clear about the kind
of projects we are to be looking for, those are the
kind of projects that were shovel ready, job creation kinds of projects.
By themselves, of course, these investments cannot,
and will not, solve all of the problems that we face.
But they are a first step.
President Obama is committing, is committed to fixing
the problems that we face around the nation including
the problems we face here in California
Let me just say, Governor Schwarzenegger, as I have
watched him over the years has always been a problem
solver, and if there ever was a need in America today,
we need problem solvers, one to help fix the economic
crisis that we find ourselves as a nation today the worst
economic crisis since the worst depression, and
secondly we need problem solver to help fix the kind of
water situation we find ourselves in here in this valley.
And so with that what I would like to do is to
turn it over to Governor Schwarzenegger.