Heinrich, Vasquez, Colleagues Welcome $400 Million to Combat Historic Western Drought

USDA's New Water Savings Commodity Program Follows Call from New Mexico, Colorado, California, Oregon, Arizona, Nevada, & Montana Lawmakers in April

Elephant Butte Irrigation District set to receive up to $15 million in funding from this program

WASHINGTON- U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and U.S. Representative Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.), along with U.S. Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and U.S. Representative Yadira Caraveo (D-Colo.), welcomed the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) announcement of $400 million to address drought through investments at the irrigation district scale in 12 states across the American West.

"New Mexicans are on the front lines of increasingly extreme weather events driven by climate change, including prolonged drought and long-term aridification. We need better tools to stay prepared," said Heinrich, Chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee that oversees USDA. "I applaud the USDA for heeding our calls to invest in new, innovative resources for our agricultural producers and communities to strengthen water security and climate resilience."

"New Mexicans understand the critical impact that long-term droughts have on our communities and agricultural industries. After calling on the USDA for additional resources, I'm now proud to welcome this $400 million investment to address droughts and improve water conservation efforts," said Vasquez. "This funding will help ensure a more sustainable, resilient future for the American West."

"I am proud to announce a $400 million investment in drought relief for Western states. I am grateful to the Biden Administration and to Secretary Vilsack for approving this funding, which represents a significant step forward in supporting our communities who face long-term drought impact and our Tribal and acequia communities," said Luján. "This investment will strengthen our long-term resilience against future droughts and highlights our unwavering commitment to tackling this critical water issue. By ensuring that every individual and community has the resources they need to thrive, we are taking decisive action to mitigate the severe risks that drought poses to American farmers, ranchers, and the local economies reliant on our precious water resources."

"Family farmers, water users, and communities across the American West are facing the effects of a 1200-year drought and a changing climate. This is a five-alarm fire, and Washington ought to treat it that way," said Bennet. "With this investment, the Biden administration answered our call to bring resources to bear that will help producers innovate and become more resilient to drought. I'm grateful for Secretary Vilsack's leadership in delivering this relief for Colorado and the West."

"As climate chaos fuels long-term drought in Oregon and across the American West, the federal government must use all the resources at its disposal to address this ongoing crisis," said Merkley. "My colleagues and I urged the administration to take action earlier this year, and I applaud the USDA for creating this new program to fund innovative water solutions. This is a much-needed step forward to build a stronger, more resilient future for the West's economy and environment."

"I'm very excited the bicameral effort I helped lead in April urging USDA for Western drought investments paid off. This new Water Savings Commodity Program and federal investments will be life changing for Colorado - giving our communities the resources and protections they need," said Caraveo.

Producers who participate in USDA's Water Saving Commodity Program will receive payments for voluntarily reducing water consumption while maintaining and expanding water-saving commodity production. This funding will help conserve up to 50,000 acre-feet in water use across 250,000 acres of irrigated land in production, while expanding and creating new, sustainable market opportunities. The new program, coupled with investments from the Western Water Framework, will support innovative measures for water conservation while building resilience for long-term agricultural production in New Mexico and the West.

In New Mexico, the Elephant Butte Irrigation District is set to receive up to $15 million in funding from this program.

In addition to irrigation districts, the program will include a Tribal set-aside, with up to $40 million in funding for additional awards within Indian Country aimed at reducing water consumption and maintaining land in agricultural production. Targeted assistance will also be available for acequias to support water-saving commodity production.

In April, Heinrich, Bennet, Merkley, Caraveo, and Vasquez led 26 of their colleagues representing Western states in a letter urging the Biden administration to make further investments to address long-term drought caused by climate change. The lawmakers applaud the administration's previous and ongoing efforts to combat drought in the American West - including through the Western Water and Working Lands Framework and by opening upInflation Reduction Act funding for additional climate-smart agriculture practices - and called for further action to address Western drought through investments in upstream watershed-scale projects, water forecasting, water conservation, and watershed restoration.

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