President Obama to Lend Much-Needed Support to Drought-Stricken California

SACRAMENTO (February 14, 2014) – During President Obama’s trip to drought-stricken California today, he is expected to visit impacted communities, meet with local stakeholders and announce new efforts to support the state, including proposing a $1 billion Climate Resilience Fund as part of his federal budget proposal next month. According to reports, the fund will support research, community preparedness and new technologies for building resilient infrastructure.   

Ann Notthoff, director of California advocacy for the Natural Resources Defense Council, issued the following statement:

“California’s message to the President today is loud and clear: we need to work together and take immediate action to respond to this drought. Californians overwhelming agree that investing in irrigation technologies, water conservation and recycling and local water resiliency are among the strategies that will reduce the effects of this drought and will also make California more drought resilient in the future. A federal climate resilience fund will help us meet those goals.  State and local funding and planning will also be critical. We look forward to the President and Governor Brown working together to ensure we’re helping Californians get through the drought today while becoming better prepared for a drier future to come."