The President will visit Fresno, California to discuss the severe drought affecting the state. He will meet with impacted farmers and announce that the USDA will accelerate disaster assistance programs to help farmers apply for relief within 60 days, rather than the usual 6-8 months. The President will also announce $15 million in additional conservation funding, with $5 million directed to California, to help farmers and ranchers dealing with water scarcity and drought conditions. The accelerated disaster assistance is expected to provide around $100 million to California agriculture and nearly $1 billion total to farmers nationwide.

1. Transcript
provided
by
OSTP
THE
WHITE
HOUSE
Office
of
the
Press
Secretary
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Embargoed
Until
6:00
A.M.
EST
Friday,
February
14,
2014
PRESS
BRIEFING
BY
SECRETARY
OF
AGRICULTURE
TOM
VILSACK
AND
ASSISTANT
TO
THE
PRESIDENT
FOR
SCIENCE
AND
TECHNOLOGY
DR.
JOHN
HOLDREN
ON
THE
PRESIDENT’S
TRIP
TO
FRESNO,
CALIFORNIA
Via
Conference
Call
6:31
P.M.
EST
MR.
LEHRICH:
Hey,
everybody,
thanks
for
joining
us
today.
I
hope
those
of
you
who
are
on
the
East
Coast
are
staying
warm
and
dry.
As
a
reminder,
this
call
is
embargoed
until
6:00
a.m.
tomorrow
morning,
which
means
it’s
not
in
tomorrow’s
newspapers
but
can
be
online
at
6:00
a.m.
Eastern
tomorrowmorning.
The
call
will
be
on
the
record
with
that
embargo.
As
you
know,
the
President
will
be
in
the
Fresno,
California
area
tomorrow,
where
he’ll
be
talking
about
the
severe
droughts
that
are
affecting
much
of
California.
To
talk
about
some
of
the
new
announcements
the
President
will
have
tomorrow
and
related
issues
we’ve
got
Secretary
of
Agriculture
Tom
Vilsack
and
Dr.
John
Holdren,
who
is
the
Director
of
the
White
House
Office
of
Science
and
Technology
Policy,
and
is
going
to
talk
to
you
about
some
of
the
science
behind
the
weather
we’re
seeing
here.
So,
with
that,
I
will
turn
it
over
to
Secretary
Vilsack.
SECRETARY
VILSACK:
Matt,
thank
you
very
much.
And
thanks
to
everybody
on
the
call.
And
certainly
thanks
to
John
Holdren
for
doing
this
as
well.
Let
me
just
preview
for
you
the
President’s
focus
on
this
California
drought
situation,
which
is
really
impacting
California
with
its
worst
drought
in
over
a
hundred
years,
and
it’s
also
impacting
obviously
other
states
as
well.
Tomorrow
the
President
will
meet
with
producers
and
those
who
have
been
impacted
and
affected
by
the
drought.
He’ll
have
an
opportunity
to
observe
the

2. impacts
on
the
ground,
and
he’ll
I
think
offer
a
message
of
hope
and
a
message
that
the
federal
government
will
do
all
that
it
can
to
try
to
alleviate
some
of
the
stress
connected
with
this
drought.
The
President,
last
week
in
Michigan,
signed
the
2014
Agricultural
Act,
which
is
the
farm
bill,
and
in
the
farm
bill
it
restored
disaster
assistance
for
livestock
producers
which
had
been
dormant
since
October
of
2011.
The
President
will
direct
the
Department
of
Agriculture
to
accelerate
in
an
historic
effort
to
get
the
disaster
programs
now
authorized
under
the
farm
bill
to
a
point
where
farmers
and
producers
in
California
and
across
the
country
will
be
able
to
apply
for
disaster
assistance.
Normally,
this
process
takes
anywhere
from
six
to
eight
months.
The
President
is
going
to
direct
us
to
get
it
done
within
60
days
so
that
within
60
days,
by
April
15th
or
there
abouts,
farmers
and
producers
will
be
able
to
make
applications
for
livestock
assistance
and
should
receive
checks
shortly
thereafter.
This
will
not
only
impact
folks
in
California
but
it
will
also
have
the
opportunity
to
provide
help
and
assistance
to
producers
in
the
Dakotas
who
suffered
from
historic
snowstorms
last
fall,
and
for
those
who
suffered
through
the
2012
droughts
across
the
country
and
other
isolated
situations.
We
anticipate
and
expect
that
with
this
announcement
that
once
applications
are
filed
and
money
distributed,
it
will
mean
somewhere
in
the
neighborhood
of
$100
million
of
assistance
to
California
producers
and
probably
likely
nearly
a
billion
dollars
of
assistance
to
producers
across
the
country.
The
President
is
also
going
to
announce
additional
conservation
assistance
at
a
time
when
water
is
scarce
and
when
livestock
producers
are
challenged,
and
with
those
who
are
faced
with
drought
conditions
on
their
land
and
the
possibility
of
losing
very
precious
soil.
The
President
will
be
announcing
an
additional
$15
million
in
targeted
conservation
assistance
for
those
communities
and
areas
that
have
been
most
affected
by
drought.
Five
million
dollars
of
that
will
be
directed
to
California.
This
is
in
addition
to
the
$20
million
that
was
announced
last
week.
An
additional
$10
million
will
then
be
given
and
made
available
to
producers
in
Texas,
Oklahoma,
Nebraska,
Colorado
and
New
Mexico.
These
resources
will
be
above
and
beyond
what
normally
these
states
have
received
and
these
producers
would
receive
for
assistance.
The
President
will
also
announce
an
additional
$5
million
in
targeted
emergency
watershed
protection
-­‐-­‐
I
should
back
up
and
indicate
that
the
$15
million
that’s
being
announced
in
targeted
conservation
assistance
is
really
designed
to
provide
opportunities
for
producers
to
conserve
more
effectively
their
water
resources,
to
utilize
the
money
to
impact
and
reduce
soil
erosion
as
a
result
of
the
drought,
and
potentially
use
the
proceeds
to
improve
livestock
access
to
water.

3.
Five
million
dollars
in
targeted
emergency
watershed
protection
assistance
will
also
be
announced
to
California,
and
this
is
designed
to
specifically
stabilize
stream
banks,
to
replant
upland
strips
that
have
been
stripped
of
their
stations
as
a
result
of
the
drought.
This
is
also
a
soil
conservation
and
water
quality
initiative.
In
addition,
we
recognize
-­‐-­‐
the
President
definitely
recognizes
that
droughts
not
only
impact
producers
but
also
impacts
the
families
of
those
who
work
in
these
orchards
and
with
these
growers
and
producers.
A
lot
of
folks
will
not
be
employed,
or
if
they’re
employed,
they
won’t
work
the
number
of
hours
that
they
would
normally
work.
So
we’re
going
to
make
sure
that
we
provide
assistance
and
help
to
those
who
might
need
the
help
of
food
banks
to
be
able
to
provide
food
for
their
families.
Sixty
million
dollars
will
be
made
available
to
food
banks
in
the
state
of
California
to
help
families
who
have
been
economically
impacted
by
the
drought.
And
as
summer
approaches,
we
realize
that
it
may
be
a
challenge
for
children
to
have
access
to
meals,
and
so
we
will
be
working
with
the
state
of
California
and
the
Department
of
Agriculture
to
establish
600
additional
summer
meal
sites
to
make
sure
that
youngsters
in
this
state
who
have
been
impacted
in
drought-­‐stricken
areas
will
have
some
assistance
and
some
help
during
the
summer
months.
The
President
is
also
going
to
follow
the
lead
of
Governor
Brown
in
California
when
he
declared
state
agencies
to
focus
on
drought
emergency
relief
last
month.
Governor
Brown
basically
encouraged
those
in
California
to
utilize
water
more
effectively
and
efficiently.
The
President
will
direct
tomorrowfederal
facilities
which
are
located
in
California
to
immediately
curb
water
use,
including
a
moratorium
on
water
usage
for
new
and
nonessential
landscaping
projects,
to
redouble
our
efforts
to
look
at
longer-­‐term
water
use
reduction
operations
and
technologies
at
federal
facilities.
And
the
President
will
direct
the
Department
of
Interior
to
continue
to
take
executive
action
to
work
with
water
contractors
and
communities
to
speed
up
changes
in
-­‐-­‐
obviously
to
maintain
important
environmental
safeguards,
but
to
make
sure
that
key
water
projects
that
could
be
encouraged
and
moved
along
are
done
so.
NOAA,
EPA,
the
Bureau
of
Reclamation,
Fish
and
Wildlife
Services
will
be
working
daily
with
their
state
counterparts
to
try
to
make
sure
that
everything
that
can
be
done
to
move
water
projects
forward
is
being
done
in
an
effective
and
efficient
way.
And
we’ll
obviously
continue
to
invest
in
climate
resilience.
The
President
has
been
very
focused
on
it,
directing
these
agencies
to
be
looking
at
this.
The
USDA
announced
that
there
is
a
climate
change
hub,
one
of
which
-­‐-­‐
sub-­‐hub
will
be
located
in
Davis,
California.
That
sub-­‐hub
will
be
doing
research
and
assessing
the
vulnerabilities
specifically
of
California
to
the
change
in
climate.
The
President’s
2015
budget
will
include
additional
resources
for
a
climate
resilience
fund.

4.
So
these
steps
are
being
taken
in
addition
to
the
steps
that
have
been
taken
and
announced
last
week
-­‐-­‐
the
$20
million
for
conservation
and
the
$14
million
for
forestry
assistance
that
was
announced
by
the
Department
of
Interior
and
USDA
-­‐-­‐
all
in
an
effort
to
try
to
send
a
very
specific
message
to
producers
in
California
that
we
are
here
to
help
to
the
extent
that
we
can.
With
that,
I
think
I’d
like
to
turn
it
over
to
John
Holdren
so
he
can
explain
to
you
the
context
of
all
of
this.
John.
DR.
HOLDREN:
Well,
thank
you,
Secretary
Vilsack.
First
of
all,
we
know
that
scientifically,
no
single
episode
of
extreme
weather,
no
storm,
no
flood,
no
drought
can
be
said
to
have
been
caused
by
global
climate
change.
But
the
global
climate
has
now
been
so
extensively
impacted
by
the
human-­‐caused
buildup
of
greenhouse
gases
that
weather
practically
everywhere
is
being
influenced
by
climate
change.
We’ve
always
had
droughts
in
the
American
West,
of
course,
but
now
the
severe
ones
are
getting
more
frequent,
they’re
getting
longer
and
they’re
getting
drier.
And
we
understand
a
substantial
part
at
least
of
the
reason
that
that
is
happening
in
a
warming
world.
First
of
all,
in
a
warming
world,
a
larger
proportion
of
total
rainfall
occurs
in
extreme
downpours,
and
that
means
more
of
the
rainfall
is
lost
to
storm
runoff,
and
less
soaks
into
the
ground.
Secondly,
in
a
warming
world,
more
of
the
precipitation
that
falls
in
the
mountains
occurs
as
rain
rather
than
as
snow.
The
rain
runs
off
quickly
in
contrast
to
snowpack
that
melts
gradually
and
thus
maintains
river
flows
through
the
spring
and
the
summer.
And
third,
higher
temperatures,
of
course,
mean
greater
loss
of
water
to
evaporation
both
from
soils
and
from
reservoirs.
There
are
other,
more
subtle
respects
in
which
global
climate
change
may
be
affecting
the
prevalence
of
drought
-­‐-­‐
scientists
are
still
arguing
about
those
-­‐-­‐
but
the
three
I
just
described
are
more
than
enough
to
understand
why
we
are
seeing
droughts
in
drought-­‐prone
regions
becoming
more
frequent,
more
severe,
and
longer.
The
situation
in
California
as
I
think
you
all
know
is
particularly
severe.
As
Secretary
Vilsack
noted,
it
is
the
most
severe
drought
in
the
more
than
hundred
years
of
incremental
records,
but
it’s
also
probably
based
on
paleoclimate
records
one
of
the
strongest
droughts
in
the
last
500
years.
And
by
the
way,
the
drought
in
the
Colorado
River
Basin
is
probably
one
of
the
strongest
droughts
in
that
area
in
the
last
thousand
years.
MR.
LEHRICH:
Thank
you,
Dr.
Holdren
and
Secretary
Vilsack.
And
we’re
ready
for
some
questions
now.

5.
Q
Mr.
Secretary,
what
does
the
administration
think
of
the
Feinstein-­‐Boxer
legislation
that
was
introduced
last
Tuesday?
Briefly,
that
would
push
the
feds
to
be
more
flexible
on
how
they
control
pumping
and
the
water
contracts
for
Central
Valley
water
as
well
as
the
state
water
projects.
SECRETARY
VILSACK:
Well,
the
reality
I
think
this
is
an
opportunity
for
us
today
to
focus
on
executive
action.
Obviously
we’ll
be
-­‐-­‐
the
administration
will
be
taking
a
look
at
what
the
senators
are
proposing
-­‐-­‐
I
know
they’re
proposing
additional
help
and
assistance.
And
we’ll
obviously
work
with
the
Senate
and
the
House
if
they
can
reach
a
consensus
on
this.
Obviously
there’s
a
difference
of
opinion,
based
on
what
Senator
Feinstein
and
what
Senator
Boxer
have
proposed,
and
what
the
House
recently
passed.
But
rather
than
wait
for
congressional
action,
what
we’re
going
to
try
to
do
is
try
to
put
the
resources
that
are
available
that
we
have
control
over
to
work
as
quickly
as
possible.
And
that’s
-­‐-­‐
I
don’t
want
to
underemphasize
the
significance
of
the
President’s
directive
on
this
livestock
assistance
because,
historically,
this
has
taken
months
and
months
and
months
to
do,
and
the
President
has
been
very
clear
to
me
and
to
USDA
that
he
wants
it
done
so
that
people
can
begin
applying
within
60
days.
That
is
going
to
send
a
very
strong
message
about
his
need
and
his
desire
to
get
things
moving
and
to
help
to
the
extent
possible.
MR.
LEHRICH:
And
I
can
just
add
to
that,
Roger,
from
our
perspective
that
we
are
encouraged
by
the
progress
in
the
Senate
on
efforts
to
ease
the
pain
caused
by
the
drought
and
that
we
look
forward
to
continuing
to
work
with
the
bill
sponsors
and
other
members
of
Congress,
like
the
Secretary
said,
as
the
process
moves
forward.
Q
Mr.
Secretary,
could
you
elaborate
on
what
you
mean
by
operational
flexibilities?
When
you
want
to
speed
changes
to
key
water
projects,
what
key
water
projects
are
you
talking
about?
SECRETARY
VILSACK:
These
are
projects
that
the
Interior,
EPA,
Bureau
of
Reclamation
and
the
Fish
and
Wildlife
Services
are
working
on.
These
are
not
projects
that
are
specific
to
USDA.
But
the
President
has
been
very
clear
that
he
doesn’t
want
any
delay.
He
wants
folks
to
move
as
quickly
as
possible.
And
the
announcement
today
in
terms
of
the
disaster
assistance
is
a
reflection
of
that.
I’m
sure
we
can
get
you
a
list
of
the
projects
that
are
currently
being
worked
on
in
California,
but
the
bottom
line
here
is
that
there’s
no
time
for
delay,
there’s
no
time
for
inefficiency.
The
President
wants
things
to
move
and
he’s
directing
all
of
his
agencies
to
do
what
they
can
to
try
to
alleviate
or
to
try
to
mitigate
the
impacts
and
effects
of
this
drought.
Q
Thanks.

6.
Q
I
just
want
to
make
sure
-­‐
we’re
only
talking
about
the
-­‐-­‐
we’re
not
talking
about
the
livestock
indemnity
program,
it’s
just
the
forest
disaster
program,
because
you
said
it’s
going
to
be
a
billion
dollars
country-­‐wide
and
that
it
would
help
the
folks
who
went
through
blizzards,
but
that
would
be
more
like
the
livestock
indemnity
program,
wouldn’t
it
-­‐-­‐
for
animals
who
just
died
from
freezing
to
death?
I
just
want
to
make
sure
there’s
nothing
in
here
for
fruit
and
vegetable
growers.
SECRETARY
VILSACK:
First
of
all,
let
me
be
clear
about
this:
There
are
four
livestock
disaster
programs,
there
are
four
disaster
programs
that
were
reauthorized
in
the
farm
bill,
and
the
President
is
instructing
us
on
all
four,
to
get
them
lined
up
so
that
applications
can
be
received
within
60
days
and
money
can
flow
shortly
thereafter.
So
this
is
both
the
forage
and
the
livestock
indemnity
program,
the
tree
assistance
program
-­‐-­‐
and
one
that’s
escaping
me
right
now.
So
it’s
all
four;
all
four
of
them
have
to
be
institutionalized.
And
as
it
relates
to
some
of
the
specialty
crops
that
are
grown
in
California,
it’s
conceivable
the
tree
assistance
program
might
be
of
assistance
to
tree
producers,
to
nut
producers
here
in
this
state.
Secondly,
the
conservation
programs
that
we’re
announcing
are
designed
to
provide
help
and
assistance
to
growers
of
a
multitude
of
crops,
including
fruits
and
vegetables.
To
the
extent
that
that
land
is
now
fallow
and
there
is
concern
about
soil
erosion,
to
the
extent
that
there
are
ways
in
which
water
resources,
irrigation
systems
can
be
assisted
or
helped,
these
resources
could
potentially
be
made
available
as
well
for
those
growers.
So
this
is
not
limited
to
livestock.
This
is
basically
designed
to
try
to
provide
help
and
assistance
to
producers
of
all
stripes
here
in
California,
given
the
diversity
of
agriculture
that’s
been
impacted.
Q
Super.
Thanks.
Q
Hi.
Thanks,
Mr.
Secretary.
I
was
wondering
if
there
was
any
work
being
done
to
ease
water
transfers
between
the
state
water
program
and
the
Central
Valley
Improvement
program.
SECRETARY
VILSACK:
That's
a
question
I’m
not
qualified
to
answer,
but
perhaps
somebody
from
the
White
House
can
get
some
information
to
you
on
that.
I
don't
know
the
answer
to
that
question.
MR.
LEHRICH:
Sure.
Shoot
us
an
email
and
we
will
make
sure
we
get
you
in
touch
with
the
right
people,
I
would
imagine
at
the
Department
of
the
Interior.
Q
Thanks
for
the
call,
Mr.
Secretary.
The
state
expected
$1.1
billion
to
be
available
-­‐-­‐

7.
SECRETARY
VILSACK:
I’m
sorry.
I
couldn’t
hear
that
question
very
well.
There’s
a
problem
with
the
phone.
I’m
not
sure
why.
Q
Yes,
is
that
better?
SECRETARY
VILSACK:
You
can
try
it.
Q
Yes,
Mr.
Secretary,
so
the
$1.1
billion,
is
that
the
total
in
damages
that
you
-­‐-­‐
that
has
been
calculated
for
this?
Or
that's
just
the
amount
of
money
that
may
be
used?
In
other
words,
is
it
$1.1
billion
in
damages
right
now,
just
to
be
clear?
SECRETARY
VILSACK:
Yes,
to
be
clear
about
this,
we
estimate
that
the
livestock
disaster
assistance
programs
will
provide
for
California
producers
up
to
$100
million.
That's
our
estimate
based
on
what
we
know
and
what
we
think
we
know
about
the
damages
that
already
have
been
suffered.
The
billion-­‐dollar
number
would
include
the
$100
million
and
would
include
all
of
the
other
potential
applications
that
could
be
forthcoming
from
folks
who
lost
livestock
or
were
impacted
by
the
2012
drought
across
the
country,
or
who
lost
serious
losses
as
a
result
of
the
snowstorms
in
the
Dakotas
last
fall.
So
it’s
a
billion
dollars
total.
Of
that
amount,
$100
million
is
the
estimate
for
what
we
think
is
likely
to
occur
in
California.
Is
that
clear?
Q
Okay.
One
follow-­‐up?
Would
you
support
more
reservoirs
to
hold
the
water
for
droughts
like
this
in
California?
SECRETARY
VILSACK:
Well,
I
think
actually
I‘m
probably
not
the
person
to
ask
that
question.
What
I
am
interested
in
making
sure
that
we
do
is
to
provide
producers
with
as
much
information
as
we
possibly
can
about
how
to
most
effectively
use
the
water
resources,
whatever
they
are,
wherever
they
come
from,
however
they're
stored
in
an
environmentally
appropriate
way
and
the
like,
and
distribute
it
appropriately.
Our
goal
here
is
to
make
sure
that
we
provide
producers
help
and
assistance
because
they
have
suffered
immediately
and
to
use
the
climate
hub
efforts
to
assess
the
long-­‐term
vulnerabilities,
to
provide
and
identify
technologies
for
producers
that
they
can
use
to
adapt
to
a
changing
climate
or
to
mitigate
the
impacts.
We
have
already
invested
several
hundred
million
dollars
in
research
in
California.
A
lot
of
it
has
been
focused
on
trying
to
figure
out
how
to
use
water
more
effectively,
how
to
reduce
the
salinity
of
the
water
that
is
available,
how
to
ensure
that
new
technologies
-­‐-­‐
new
seed
technologies
are
being
developed,
to
utilize
scarce
water
resources
more
effectively.
That's
the
role
and
responsibility
of
the
USDA,
and
that's
what
we’re
-­‐-­‐
that's
what
I’m
focused
on
-­‐-­‐
getting
relief
to
folks.

8.
DR.
HOLDREN:
Can
I
just
add
-­‐-­‐
this
is
John
Holdren.
Let
me
just
add
one
point
there.
The
problem
in
California
is
not
that
we
don't
have
enough
reservoirs.
The
problem
is
that
there’s
not
enough
water
in
them.
Just
to
give
you
some
numbers:
As
of
the
end
of
last
weekend,
Fulsom
Lake
was
at
22
percent
of
capacity;
Lake
Oroville
at
37
percent;
Pine
Flat
at
18
percent;
San
Luis
Reservoir
at
30
percent.
You
get
the
idea.
We
just
haven’t
had
enough
water
flowing
into
those
reservoirs.
It
wouldn’t
help
to
build
any
more.
Q
Thank
you.
Q
Yes,
can
you
tell
me
if
the
administration
took
a
position
on
the
bill
that
passed
the
House
last
week
that
was
supposed
to
address
these
water
problems
in
California?
MR.
LEHRICH:
Yes,
Gary.
We
did
take
a
position.
We’ve
issued
a
statement
of
administration
policy
opposed
to
that
bill.
and
we’ll
be
happy
to
send
you
the
full
text
of
that
statement
of
administration
policy.
Q
Thank
you.
Q
Hi.
Thank
you
for
speaking
with
us.
I
have
a
question
about
the
$100
million
in
livestock
disaster
assistance.
Can
dairy
farmers
use
that
money
to
shore
up
the
crops
they
need
to
feed
to
their
livestock?
Or
is
it
simply
for
livestock
head
guys?
SECRETARY
VILSACK:
There
are
two
different
programs.
One
addresses
livestock
that
died
as
a
result
of
whatever
-­‐-­‐
storms,
drought.
There’s
also
a
forage
program
that
basically
provides
help
and
assistance
to
producers
who
have
been
unable
to
obtain
the
forage
that
they
traditionally
could
rely
on
to
feed
their
livestock.
This
gives
them
cash
assistance
that
allows
them
potentially
to
get
forage
and
feed
from
other
sources.
It
might
be
more
expensive.
There
may
be
transportation
expenses.
So
it’s
both.
Q
Okay,
so
we
could
see
California
dairy
farmers
using
that
money
to
buy
forage
from
out
of
state?
SECRETARY
VILSACK:
Or
a
different
feed
that
they
wouldn’t
normally
or
traditionally
use,
because
they
have
their
own
access
to
their
own
fields,
which
right
now
are
not
producing
enough.
It’s
always
up
to
the
producer.
It’s
up
to
the
producer’s
situation.
But
the
point
of
this
is
it
provides
help
and
assistance
to
producers
who
have
been
negatively
impacted
by
this
drought
either
in
terms
of
the
availability
or
substantial
cost
with
alternatives
or
substitutes.
Q
The
President
rarely
discusses
climate
change
when
he
talks
about
extreme
weather.
Is
that
going
to
change
tomorrow?
And
if
so,
for
all
those
parched

9. Americans
out
there,
how
do
you
really
connect
things
like
cutting
greenhouse
gases
or
backing
renewable
energy
with
terrible
drought?
DR.
HOLDREN:
I
mean,
number
one,
you
can
certainly
expect
that
the
President
will
talk
about
the
connection
between
the
increasing
frequency
and
intensity
of
droughts
and
climate
change
when
he
speaks
tomorrow.
He
has
actually
repeatedly
talked
about
the
connection
between
climate
change
and
extreme
weather.
He
did
so
in
his
speech
at
June
25th
at
Georgetown
University
when
he
rolled
out
the
Climate
Action
Plan.
And
he
will
talk
tomorrow
about
the
phenomena
that
I
mentioned
earlier
in
this
call,
which
is
that
we
really
understand
a
number
of
the
reasons
that
global
climate
change
is
increasing
the
intensity
and
the
frequency
and
the
length
of
droughts
in
drought-­‐prone
regions.
This
is
one
of
the
better
understood
dimensions
of
the
relationship
between
global
climate
change
and
extreme
weather
in
particular
regions.
Q
I
also
have
a
question
about
moving
along
key
water
projects.
I’m
wondering
if
by
that
you
or
the
administration
is
endorsing
in
any
way
the
Bay
Delta
Conservation
Project
to
build
twin
tunnels
under
the
Delta
to
transfer
water
more
effectively
from
north
to
south.
SECRETARY
VILSACK:
I
don’t
know
the
answer
to
that
question.
I
can
tell
you
that
we
have
at
the
USDA
been
involved
in
the
California
Bay
Delta
area
with
additional
investments
over
the
last
several
years.
But
I’m
not
familiar
with
that
specific
project.
DR.
HOLDREN:
Nor
am
I.
Q
Can
I
have
a
follow-­‐up
question?
I’m
wondering
for
the
drought
assistance
for
growers
and
farmers,
what
form
will
that
assistance
take?
Do
you
have
an
idea
about
that?
SECRETARY
VILSACK:
When
you
say
“form”
-­‐-­‐
well,
let
me
just
see
if
I
can
respond
to
your
question.
The
livestock
disaster
assistance
we
referred
to
earlier
is
in
the
form
of
cash.
It’s
in
the
form
of
money.
The
conversation
assistance
is
also
in
the
form
of
resources
that
will
be
utilized
by
producers.
It
helps
to
pay
for
conservation
practices
that
they
may
install
on
their
property
or
efficiencies
that
they
may
create
in
terms
of
water
resources
that
they’re
currently
using.
Most
of
these
programs
are
sort
of
matching
funds
providing
help
and
assistance
to
the
producer
-­‐-­‐
not
fully
paying
for
all
of
the
steps,
but
helping
to
pay
for
a
portion
of
them.
The
emergency
water
assistance
grants
are
grants
made
to
communities
themselves.
So
that’s
resources,
money
that’s
provided
to
a
community,
it’s
not
provided
through
producers.
It’s
provided
to
a
community
that
is
faced
with
water
shortages.
And
they
may
be
taking
steps
to
secure
additional
water
resources.
And

10. this
money
is
provided
to
assist
them
in
helping
to
pay
for
whatever
steps
they’re
taking.
The
food
bank
resources
is
money
from
The
Emergency
Food
Assistance
Program,
TEFAP,
that
gives
food
banks
the
capacity
to
go
out
and
purchase
whatever
they
believe
is
most
appropriate,
most
necessary,
to
help
families
based
on
what
demand
at
the
food
bank
is.
And
the
summer
meal
program,
basically
once
the
sites
are
set
up,
USDA
provides
a
cost
to
-­‐-­‐
the
600
summer
meal
sites,
that
is
-­‐-­‐
USDA
provides
reimbursement
to
the
affiliates
or
the
community
that
is
sponsoring
the
meal
sites.
We
basically
pay
for
the
meals
and
we
provide
a
reimbursement
level
based
on
the
number
of
meals
that
are
supplied.
So
it’s
a
wide
range
of
types
of
assistance
that
are
provided.
MR.
LEHRICH:
Thank
you,
Secretary
Vilsack
and
Dr.
Holdren.
And
thank
you
all
for
taking
the
time
to
join
us.
One
more
reminder
that
this
call
was
on
the
record,
but
is
embargoed
for
6:00
a.m.
tomorrow
morning
Eastern
time,
which
means
it’s
not
in
Friday’s
papers,
it’s
in
Saturday’s
papers,
but
can
be
online
at
6:00
a.m.
Eastern
time.
As
always,
if
you
didn’t
get
a
fact
sheet
or
have
follow-­‐ups,
feel
free
to
get
in
touch
with
us.
Otherwise,
I’m
sure
that
Secretary
Vilsack
and
the
President
look
forward
to
seeing
a
bunch
of
you
tomorrow
in
California.
Thanks
again.
Have
a
good
night.
END
7:01
P.M.
EST