CalFed Says Bush Budget Doesn’t Meet Hopes On Flood Control

Sacramento, CA — President Bush´s budget plan for 2007 proposes less than one- third the amount California lawmakers want for flood control in Napa.

The spending plan released Monday proposes $9 million to complete a flood protection project in Napa County. Flooding over the New Year´s weekend damaged $1,200 homes and cost more than $100 million.

Bush´s budget also would boost spending for the California Federal Bay-Delta water program, but delete money to help states pay the cost of jailing illegal immigrants, something that costs California more than $750 million a year.

Bush has also tried in past budgets to get rid of the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, but Congress has not gone along. Lawmakers found $405 million for the program in 2006. California gets about 40 percent of the money.

The state-federal Cal-Fed program to restore the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta gets a proposed $38 million in the Bureau of Reclamation´s budget, up from $37 million in 2006. That´s good news because the overall Bureau of Reclamation budget declines as Bush looks to squeeze government programs.