Emergency hearing on Western drought requested by DeFazio, natural resource Democrats

Statesman Journal
By Tracy Loew
February 3, 2014

This morning, Oregon Rep. Peter DeFazio led a letter co-signed by more than a dozen committee Democrats to Chairman Doc Hastings, R-Wash., requesting an emergency hearing to discuss the devastating drought plaguing western states.

Eleven states have been declared disaster areas due to drought by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Oregon is experiencing severe drought in over 75% of the state. . In Nevada, nearly 40% of the state is in extreme drought.

California, which is seeing the driest conditions in 500 years, is experiencing extreme drought in over 62% of the state

“Over half of the contiguous United States is experiencing moderate to severe drought,” The letter states. “The drought impacts all aspects of our jurisdiction, including water and power deliveries, wildlife and fisheries, and forest health and wildland fire management. As part of our oversight responsibilities, we are writing to request a bipartisan hearing on the drought impacts across the nation.”

The full text of the letter is available here.