Outcry Prompts Revival of Bill on Drought Relief : Water: House Interior Committee chairman says he will delay a bid to reform long-term contracts until early next year.

WASHINGTON —  One day after declaring emergency drought legislation all but dead, House Interior Committee Chairman George Miller (D-Martinez) abruptly reversed his position Tuesday by reviving the bill and calling for its swift passage.

Miller had vowed that he would block the drought relief measure unless the House approved his bid to stop the Interior Department from automatically renewing 40-year water service contracts for agricultural users of the massive Central Valley Water project. But after suffering a narrow defeat on the House floor Monday and drawing intense criticism from colleagues, Miller backed down.

“Obviously, we need the drought bill,” Miller said. “It’s very clear that we’re three inches down on rainfall this year. Let’s do it.”

Miller spokesman Dan Weiss said the sudden switch in strategy means that the Interior Committee chairman “will continue to push for water contract reform, but he will not hold (drought) legislation hostage.”

Miller said his goal is to send the drought bill, which must be approved by a House-Senate conference committee, to the President this year and to continue pressing for Central Valley water contract reforms early next year. The drought measure has received strong backing from the Bush Administration.

Miller’s back-and-forth political maneuvering led some observers to conclude that he had manipulated the legislative process to draw attention to his desire to drastically alter the way the federal government allocates water in California.

“To many, it appeared that Mr. Miller was just pursuing his own reform agenda in spite of the immediate needs of California and other Western states,” said Steve Goldstein, chief spokesman for the Department of Interior.

Sen. John Seymour (R-Calif.) said: “This is a 180-degree turnaround from (Miller’s earlier) position. “I’m glad he’s seen the light and agreed to deal with long-term water issues next year.”

Rep. Richard Lehman (D-Sanger), who represents California farming interests and was among the lawmakers who publicly criticized Miller, said the Interior Committee chairman “has done the right thing for California” by changing his stance.

If approved, the emergency drought legislation would give federal officials new authority to transfer water to places where it is needed most during a crisis and permit cities to use federal water projects to store and move water. The measure was pushed through the House by Miller early this year, then languished in the Senate for more than six months before it was passed in October.

Some differences remain between the House and Senate versions of the drought measure. On Tuesday, Miller requested that a joint conference committee meet soon to iron out the differences.

Miller had angered California Gov. Pete Wilson, Seymour and other pro-agriculture legislators by seeking to attach a provision to the drought legislation that would have set aside the 40-year contracts being renewed by Interior Secretary Manuel Lujan Jr.

About 80% of the state’s water resources are provided to Central Valley farmers at highly subsidized rates. Miller has pushed the Interior Department to release some of the water for other uses. But Miller’s attempt to get Congress to reconsider the contract renewals fell 27 votes shy of the two-thirds majority needed.

Wilson, Seymour and other lawmakers have warned that farmers would go broke if the federal government suddenly cut off water contracts that were negotiated more than 40 years ago.

But Miller insists that there is no way to solve the state’s severe water shortage without renegotiating the contracts.

“I would have liked to have won (Monday), but clearly we accomplished with that vote what we sought to do. That is to make it very clear that contract reform is going to be a very fundamental component of future water management policy in California.

“I lost on this attempt. I will be right back. Stay tuned.”