Governor Schwarzenegger Signs Legislation to Reform and Rebuild CA Water System

Press Conference, at Set Back Levee off of Twitchell Island Ferry Road, Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, Isleton, California.

Mr. Ayala:
Hi, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you. My name is Joel Ayala, I'm the CEO for the California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce. I'm also a proud member of the Latino Water Coalition. I want to thank you all for coming out this morning and I want to thank the participants that are up here at the podium with the Governor and as well as our speakers. We'll hear from Senator Steinberg, Senator Cogdill, Assemblyman Jared Huffman, Anthony Saracino from the Nature Conservancy, Mr. Tom Birmingham from Westlands Water District and Mr. Jose Mejia from the State Labor Council.

I want to thank the Governor and again I want to thank this true bipartisan effort for this piece of legislation, especially SBX7 1, because this reflects a bridge piece of legislation that sets out for the goals of conservancy, reliable water supply and economic development, all said within the same sentence. Thank you for setting the direction and the framework for thousands of new jobs within the state of California. And on behalf of the 65 chambers of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and our 720,000 Hispanic-owned businesses, thank you, Governor.

And ladies and gentlemen, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. (Applause)

Photo: Justin Short, Office of the Governor

Governor Schwarzenegger:
Thank you, Joel, thank you very much. And I want to thank everyone else that is here today; Senator Steinberg, Assemblyman Huffman and Anthony Saracino with the Nature Conservancy and then Jose Mejia at the State Council for Laborers and Tom Birmingham from the Westlands Water District and then Senator Dave Cogdill. Thank you very much.

And there's one person I have to sadly say is not here with us today because he passed away this morning and that's Tom Graff. The reason why I wanted to mention him is because he was a great environmentalist, someone that was very heavily working for 30 years on preservation, conservation and protecting the environment, protecting the Delta and who was very instrumental to get us where we are here today. So we want to just say our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family and his friends.

Now, Mark Twain once said that whiskey is for drinking and water is worth fighting over and I think that he must have been talking about California, because California has been fighting about water and over water for the last few decades. And everyone was fighting everybody, if it is environmentalists with farmers, if it's labor with businesses, if it is the southern Californians versus the northern Californians, Democrats versus Republicans and so on.

And because of that nothing was really done, because everyone was dug in. And the result was nothing got done and we stopped building and the water infrastructure, that was once considered the number one plumbing system in the world, is now aged and old. And, of course, today's system is built for 18 million people and it's buckling under the pressure of 38 million people.

Now, what we see here is evidence of that. The Delta is the hub of our water system. It provides water for more than 25 million Californians, it provides habitat for more than 700 plants and animal species. But today the Delta and its ecosystem is dying. Fish and wildlife is imperiled, federal judges have ordered us to turn off the pumps. And experts warn that a major earthquake could crumble this levee system here and we have seen what happens with Katrina, when we wait too long rebuilding the infrastructure.

Last week, though, the legislature had a huge breakthrough and did something that was historic and extraordinary and very daring, I have to say. They came to a comprehensive agreement, which is, I think, the best water deal that we have seen in decades and is the biggest infrastructure package that we have seen in California's history.

And in a few moments I will be signing one of those bills. As a matter of fact, one of those pieces of the package is Senate Bill X7 1. This legislation creates the Delta Stewardship Council and the council will develop and coordinate a plan to achieve two co-equal goals, Delta restoration and water supply reliability. What we will do is, we will rebuild the levees, we will create new habitat, we will finally fix the Delta and restore its ecosystem. In fact, along with the Florida Everglades, this will be the largest environmental restoration project in America.

And none of this would, of course, have been possible if it wouldn't have been for extraordinary leadership on so many different levels here. We have, for instance, Senator Steinberg, who has been an extraordinary partner in this. And I want to tell you that 10 months ago Senator Steinberg looked me in the eyes and he said, "We're going to get water done this year," and I saw his passion behind this. And he worked from that point on tirelessly, with all of the different people, with all the organizations, Democrats and Republicans, everyone alike. He brought everyone together and did an extraordinary job so I want to say thank you, Senator, for your great, great work that you have done.

But, of course, it's again not just one person, there's a lot of people and you see them standing right here, all of them. David Cogdill, Senator Cogdill, did an extraordinary job negotiating and bringing everybody together. I want to thank him also.

Then, of course, Assemblyman Huffman, who is standing right here with us. And let me tell you something, it's great when you have someone that is such an expert in the subject. He's a lawyer, he knows the language well, he knows all the various different complications. And he brought also everybody together and worked on that and felt very passionate, so we want to thank him also for his outstanding work.

And then Speaker Bass, Assemblyman Blakeslee, they all worked together. And the various different organizations, environmental organizations and water districts and so on, so I want to say thank you to all of them that are here today.

And I want to thank also the hardhats, because you're the guys that are going to build all this stuff that we are planning to build here. So without you there would be nothing, so we want to say thank you to all of you for your hard, hard work.

Now, this legislation is just one piece of a comprehensive package, of course. Earlier this week I signed an $11 billion bond package will be leveraging another $30 billion on federal and local funds. We will build more above and below-the-ground water storage, we will monitor and clean up our groundwater to protect the public's health and restore local supplies. We will crack down on those who illegally take water to the detriment of others. And we will also tackle conservation. We're going to reduce the water consumption by 20 percent per capita by the year 2020, a very important piece of this overall package here.

Today we set forth a bold vision for the state of California but it's very clear that this bold vision can only become a reality if we have the people's approval for those bonds. So you will see in the future Democrats and Republicans, environmentalists and business leaders and farmers and everyone, traveling up and down the state holding town hall meetings and talking about and educating the people of California of how important that is.

And I think the people are already aware of, they know that we have a water shortage. We have had droughts for three years in a row. We have seen problems with businesses, they can't go and expand their businesses because they don't have the water rights and don't have a source of water. We have seen development slowing down because of a lack of water. We have seen the problems that we see in farming, that we have seen unemployment rates up to 40 percent in the Central Valley and farmers cannot grow their crops.

So all of those are self-inflicted wounds. We've got to get rid of those problems and move forward and this is why this water infrastructure package is so important, so that we can provide safe, clean and reliable water for the future of California and I'm talking about 30, 40, 50, 60 years down the line.

So with that I want to say thank you very much to everyone again for working together and I want to bring up now our next speaker, Senator Steinberg, to say a few words about that. Thank you. (Applause)

Photo: Justin Short, Office of the Governor

Senator Steinberg:
Thank you. Thank you very much, Governor, for your vision and your extraordinary leadership and your partnership in helping us achieve this historic breakthrough.

I'm glad that you mentioned that conversation we had some months ago. It was actually around December 1st, because I gave a speech my first day as pro Tem and committed to getting water done within 120 days. Well, I went back and reread the speech and there was a little typo; I actually meant 11 months. But still not bad, not bad, to get this done before the end of 2009.

In addition to thanking you, of course, Governor, I want to thank my colleagues who have been so instrumental in this effort. Senator Cogdill, of course, who has been a tremendous partner. Assemblymember Huffman, who I really think did a heroic job throughout this whole process. And though he's not here today, I know his staff is here, Senator Joe Simitian, who sort of had the guts to step out on these issues a number of years ago and this bill bears his name.

I want to thank the environmental community, the leaders who stood with us throughout some very difficult negotiations; the Nature Conservancy, the EDF, the NRDC, the CLCV, the Audubon Society. The contractors, Mr. Birmingham and others, organized labor - this was a true partnership.

Let me just make the following comments about what I believe this represents. This legislation represents the most comprehensive effort in decades to save and restore California's Delta. This is not north/south, it is not urban/AG, it is not contractors versus the environmental community. In short, this is not 1982.

These bills are the lynchpin to the comprehensive water package that we passed and that the Governor has been signing throughout the week. These bills are the lynchpin for one very important reason; the Delta and its precious ecosystem is broken. The status quo is unacceptable. The Delta is governed by over 200 agencies. There is little authority and little accountability.

The new Delta Stewardship Council and the Delta Conservancy will ensure that however California achieves water supply reliability - and we must, for both northern and southern California - that restoring the Delta is a co-equal requirement. The bills provide and the bill provides, the Delta Stewardship Council with the ability to fairly review the Bay Delta Conservation Plan to assure that that restoration is, in fact, achieved. It mandates the highest level of environmental review for all water supply options. And maybe most important, this bill requires that the first priority is to identify the flows, the water that the Delta itself needs to recover.

When you combine these fundamental changes with $2.25 billion in the bond that the Governor signed earlier this week, plus and additional $200 million from the existing Proposition 1E to fix the levees, the struggling Delta now has a real chance.

The term 'historic' should not be used lightly. But who said that the legislature and the Governor could not work together to solve a problem that others could not solve for decades? This is, in fact, historic and I'm very proud to be a part of it.

Let me introduce, again, a gentleman who was a real warrior and helped us get here, Assemblymember Jared Huffman. (Applause)

Assemblymember Huffman:
Thank you, Senator Steinberg. And I do want to start by thanking Senator Steinberg. I've had the privilege of working closely with him over the last several months on what surely is the most complex and thankless issue you'll find anywhere and I just can't say enough about the character and commitment of this man, not just in solving California's water crisis but doing it in a way that saves this critical estuary behind us and in doing it in a way that works and does right by the people and the communities of the Delta. I believe that history will show that, thanks to his leadership, we made the right choice at this critical crossroad, that we stepped up and we took the heat and we started making tough decisions to save the Delta and to responsibly and efficiently manage our limited water resources going forward for this generation and in future generations.

I also want to commend Governor Schwarzenegger for the passion and determination he's brought to this issue and for supporting the far-reaching policy and governance reforms that make this truly a comprehensive water package. And I also want to thank him for honoring the memory of Tom Graff in his opening comments. The loss of Tom Graff, who over the last several decades has fought more than just about anybody to protect this Delta estuary, is truly a loss to all of us.

The bill that Governor Schwarzenegger is signing today I believe is the centerpiece of the work that we accomplished last week, because it goes to the heart of our crisis. How we manage the Delta, the most important estuary on the west coast of the Americas and of course the water supply for 23 million Californians?

And for the past several years the Delta has been on a terrible trajectory. Without a governance structure to coordinate the work of the 200-plus agencies that are involved in the Delta, the management of this critical resource has been a circular firing squad of conflicting policies, piecemeal plans and endless lawsuits. Without a comprehensive plan to ensure a healthy dynamic ecosystem we've seen a decade - many decades, actually - of species-by-species, permit-by-permit decisions that have put the Delta into an environmental death spiral and brought us to the point where our $.25 billion commercial salmon industry is closed for the unprecedented second consecutive year.

Without a statewide water supply plan that emphasizes reduced dependence on this fragile estuary and greater use of water use efficiency, water reuse, regional self-reliance, we saw Delta exports rise to unsustainable levels over the last decade. And we've paid the price. We've paid the price with fishery crashes and with abrupt federal court interventions. And without a comprehensive emergency preparedness plan, we had no coherent strategy for repairing the Delta's 1,100 miles of fragile levees and preventing a Katrina-like disaster.

Today we're setting a new and very hopeful course for the Delta and for the rest of California. The new Delta Stewardship Council and the comprehensive plan it will develop will provide a unifying planning and governance framework for the many agencies that work in the Delta. It will increase accountably, transparency and independent science.

It also marks a fundamentally new approach to ecosystem planning and this is very important, because it'll be based on the recovery of key species and not just fending off extinction fish by fish. This is important whether you're an environmentalist or a water district that relies on the Delta, because the reality is in the long term, bringing environmental stability to the Delta is the only way we will stabilize the Delta as a water supply for millions of Californians.

The water supply elements of this plan likewise reflect a new approach, one that's premised on the goal of improving statewide water supply reliability while reducing dependence on this estuary.

I want to talk very specifically about the Delta conveyance issue, because it's important to understand what this legislation does and does not do. I know that many stakeholders hope to build a peripheral canal. They've been very clear about that. At the same time, I and many others remain skeptical that a large canal of that kind is either feasible or desirable. This legislation takes no side in that debate. Let me reiterate. As an environmental attorney who reads the fine print and in this case played a significant role in writing a lot of that fine print, I want to assure you there's nothing in this legislative package that authorizes or funds a peripheral canal.

Instead, it establishes a rigorous new and protective framework for any Delta conveyance. It includes major new protections for the Delta and the environment, starting with the requirement that, before you decide how to export water from the Delta for the next 50 years, experts at the Department of Fish and Game and the state Water Board must first determine how much water the Delta needs to be a healthy estuary. Only water that is surplus to those needs can be considered for export.

The protections for the Delta estuary go even further, by requiring that any Delta conveyance must not only meet the highest environmental standards of the NCCP Act but must also include a comprehensive analysis of alternatives, including alternative sizes, alignments, different operational scenarios including reduced Delta exports and also including through-Delta alternatives and it prohibits construction of any new facility until the State Water Board issues a permit with binding protections for the Delta and its fisheries.

While some characterize this as a path to new conveyance, it's a very rigorous path full of new checks and safeguards and it puts key decisions and approvals in the hands of independent scientists and public trust agencies, which is as it should be. That is a vast improvement over the status quo.

In closing, I want to thank the Governor for choosing this location for the signing of SBX7 1, because it reminds us all what's at stake. We know about the very real hardships being felt in the San Joaquin Valley in this third consecutive drought year.

But I want to remind everyone, as we stand here on the shores of this critical estuary that sustains California's commercial salmon industry, that there are other hardships, hardships being felt by fishermen and fishing communities up and down the north coast because their entire industry is shut down this year, as it was last year and experts warn that without dramatic changes in the way we manage this estuary, our iconic salmon runs will spiral into extinction. For me, that's a huge part of what's at stake. It's why this bill is so timely, so historic and why I'm proud to be here to see it signed into law.

And with that, it's my pleasure to introduce Anthony Saracino from the Nature Conservancy. (Applause)

Mr. Saracino:
Thank you, Jared. I'd first like to pay tribute and acknowledge the efforts of Tom Graff. Tom was a true environmentalist. He was a tireless advocate for the Delta and, in particular, he was focused on improving the flow regime in the Delta and I think he would be proud of the accomplishments of this legislation.

On behalf of the Nature Conservancy I want to acknowledge the leadership of Governor Schwarzenegger, Senators Steinberg and Simitian and Assemblymember Huffman for their role in getting us here today. I also want to commend the legislature for seizing an historic opportunity to end the paralysis and continued demise of the Delta ecosystem. We've been studying, debating and wringing our hands over the Delta for numerous decades now and yet species are on the verge of extinction, suitable habitat is virtually nonexistent and the water supply for millions of Californians is at risk. Additionally, threats imposed by climate change, seismicity, invasive species and water quality degradation continue to mount.

Recognizing these facts and understanding that we no longer have the luxury of time, this crucial bill provides a much-needed framework for the vital restoration of the Delta. The common thread woven through the numerous facets of the bill is the concept of co-equal goals, a recognition of the important linkage between ecosystem health and a thriving California. Simply stated, a healthy Delta ecosystem is crucial to human health and prosperity. Simply stated, perhaps but not always simply understood. As a matter of fact, one of the greatest challenges in the Nature Conservancy is in helping people understand that biodiversity forms the backbone of viable ecosystems that we depend on for health, prosperity and security.

For example, we know that healthy ecosystems can mitigate or prevent flooding, erosion and other natural disasters. We also know what can happen when one link in the biodiversity chain is broken. Look at the affect on crop pollination resulting from the demise of a single bee. Yet for many it's still easy to view the Delta smelt as simply a little minnow. It's much harder to understand that it's not just about a fish, it's about us as well. The importance of biodiversity in a healthy Delta ecosystem cannot be overstated.

But getting to a healthy Delta ecosystem will take more than the good policy this legislation offers. It will take public and private funding as well. Restoring habitat, an essential component of the Delta, will be expensive but necessary. That's why we also support the bond legislation that will provide funding for Delta restoration.

Lastly, we need to remember that the work is not done when the bill gets signed today. So I'm pleased to say that the Nature Conservancy is committed to continuing our work with the Governor, the legislature and Delta stakeholders during the implementation of these bills to ensure the best possible outcomes for nature and for the people of California.

Again, I commend the Governor and legislature for your tireless efforts and I look forward to working with you to realize the new vision for the Delta that begins today. Thank you. (Applause)

Now I would like to introduce Jose Mejia with the labor union.

Mr. Mejia:
Good morning. I'd like to acknowledge first - Jose Mejia with the California State Council of Laborers. I'd like to acknowledge the members of our organization that are here with us today and, as the Governor well said earlier, the people that will be pretty much involved with the construction of these facilities, whenever that takes place. But I would like to acknowledge the members of Labor's Local 73 out of Stockton. (Applause)

Going along with that, by embracing this big vision - and it's certainly a historical moment to stand here before you with Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, Senator Cogdill, Assemblymember Jared Huffman and the many, many battles that were going through, that they had to deal with, to get to this particular moment.

The California State Council of Laborers represents 70,000 union construction workers who help build the water system, road and other critical infrastructure we rely upon every day.

We are standing here today in the very heart of California's water delivery system. More than 23 million Californians get some portion of their drinking water from the water that flows through these Delta channels. This Delta is also the key to the survival of the most fertile and productive agricultural region in the world and the single most important component to California's economy. Millions of jobs rely on a clean, reliable supply of water that flows through this Delta. And finally, this Delta is critical to the survival of the salmon, smelt and other habitat that for thousands of years have lived in these waters. For decades now we have neglected all those needs. We built a system designed for 15 million Californians, when now we have 38 million and counting.

That is all about to change. With the historic package of legislation passed by the legislature and signed by the Governor earlier this week, we'll begin the process of improving and expanding California's critical water delivery system. And we will be restoring this Delta, so that for decades to come it will continue to serve the needs of both the people and the environment.

None of this would have been possible without the individuals standing here today. We owe a great debt of gratitude to Governor Schwarzenegger, who three years ago made the passage of this comprehensive water plan his number one goal. Senator Cogdill, Senate President pro Tem Darrel Steinberg, Speaker Karen Bass - who unfortunately isn't here with us today - Jared Huffman, all stayed the course through a very difficult and complicated negotiation process. This displayed true leadership. In many cases they put the needs of California above their own. In short, it would have not been done without them and for that we owe them our deepest gratitude.

I thank you with all sincerity, the legislature, for doing the right thing. It's almost like being at home. You know, you really can't plan - there's really no right timing. The legislature and the Governor did the right thing at the right time for the needs of water in the state of California. You know, I compare it often, like our water heater breaking down at home. It's not like we planned it but it's got to get done. So I commend the leadership and Governor, for your bold leadership on this issue.

I'd like to introduce Tom Birmingham. (Applause)

Mr. Birmingham:
Good morning. I'm Tom Birmingham. I'm the general manager of Westlands Water district, which is one of the water agencies on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley that has suffered great hardships over the course of the last 20 years because of the conflict that has arisen concerning our competing efforts to restore the Delta and to supply water to the people of the state of California.

From the beginning of his tenure as governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has stated and has demonstrated through his actions, a commitment to do what is necessary to sustain the economy of the state of California. And as it relates to water, Governor Schwarzenegger recognized early on when Jones Tract, an island very near here, suffered a levee breech. He recognized that action needed to be taken to improve the water supply infrastructure of this state.

But at the time, he said, we need to develop means of capturing water where it originates and moving that water to where the demand for the water exists in a way that is consistent with the environmental ethic that has developed in this state over the course of the last five or six decades. A lot of us were skeptical about our ability to accomplish that goal.

But the legislation that the Governor is going to sign today represents a true balance among competing interests. The legislation establishes, in very unambiguous terms, a co-equal goal of restoring and enhancing the Bay Delta ecosystem and creating a reliable water supply for the state of California. The state of California, the economy of the state, or at least every major region in the Bay Area and areas south of the Delta, depend upon an ability to import water from distant regions of the state. This legislation will create an opportunity for us to establish a reliable water supply for the state that's necessary to sustain the economy of the state, not just for farmers in the San Joaquin Valley but for every region of the state.

And it will enable us to implement a comprehensive program to restore the Delta ecosystem, to begin to address all of the factors that have limited the abundance of species that are reliant on the Delta and to move the state forward in a way that, as other speakers have said, will benefit generations to come in the state of California.

There are many, many members of the legislature who played an instrumental role in the enactment of this legislation and other elements of the legislative package. Those members include Speaker Bass, Senator Steinberg, Senator Hollingsworth, Assemblyman Huffman.

But I would like to focus on two members and those are Senator Steinberg and Senator Cogdill. Senator Steinberg has shown incredible leadership and courage in his efforts to force parties to the table to come to a sensible balance among competing interests. During the negotiations of this legislation Senator Steinberg would not permit anyone to speak in terms of their historic positions. Instead, he insisted that people state their interest that they were trying to protect or enhance and then insisted that legislative language be developed to reflect those interests. Without his courage and leadership and without his tenacity we would not be standing here today. So thank you very much, Senator Steinberg. (Applause)

Senator Dave Cogdill is among the members of the legislature who are most knowledgeable about water supply infrastructure in this state and the need to develop new water supply infrastructure to serve both the people and the environment. Senator Cogdill's hands are on all of these pieces of legislation. Although he is the principle author of the bill, without his continued input we would not be where we are today in terms of having an opportunity to move the state forward on this historic legislation. And so I would like to thank Senator Cogdill for his extraordinary efforts over the course of his entire time in the legislature to solve the environmental and water supply problems of the state of California. (Applause)

And with that, I have the very distinct honor and pleasure to invite the Governor to sign this historic legislation. (Applause)

(Bill signing, applause)

QUESTIONS/ANSWERS:

Governor: Are there any questions about any of this? You have all the environmental experts here, you have the people have written the laws, you have the negotiators here, you have Democrats, you have Republicans here. What a candy store. Go ahead.

Question: I have a question about the bond. I'm wondering, you've said that none of the money will be wasted. I'm wondering how you yourself judge whether there's pork in a package like this and I'm wondering how California voters can be sure that none of the money is going to be wasted.

Governor: Well, as we have said, that the money will go to restoring the Delta, it will go to restoring its ecosystem, it will make sure that the water goes where it needs to go. We want to make sure that we monitor the groundwater, that we build the infrastructure and upgrade the system that once was a great system but now is outdated. We have now 38 million people and we're going to build for 50 million people, not for 38.

And what is also important is that the conservation piece is part of this, because people in California are very good with conservation. We have seen it with energy, when we set a goal to conserve energy. Now we are the most energy efficient state in the union, with 40 percent more energy efficiency than the rest of the states in the United States. We will do the same thing with water.

So all of this is being - you know, there's $11 billion that will be leveraged for another $30 billion, so the whole thing is kind of a $40 billion project. And when you hear about pork, what is for some people pork is for us cleaning up the groundwater. I think it is very important. Like in the end of the negotiations, for instance, there is a certain amount of money, a billion dollars extra put in there, because I insisted that this money goes to the local communities and to the cities all over the state of California to clean the groundwater, because we have a major problem with our groundwater. We could not go ahead and do water infrastructure and rebuild our water system without also promising the people that we're going to clean the groundwater and get rid of some of those chemicals. So that's where some of this money went.

And I'm sure that the people will understand all of this, because the people of California have a high interest in rebuilding our infrastructure. We have just seen it in 2006 when they have approved all the infrastructure bonds for transportation, for housing, for schools and for the levees. We have seen it again just last year in the middle of the financial crisis when they approved the children's hospital and also the high-speed rail. People want to rebuild the state of California.

Question: It's true that this legislation doesn't authorize a canal but do you believe it sets the state on a path towards building one, one day, a canal around the Delta?

Governor: Well, I think that the experts have made those recommendations, as you know. Phil Eisenberg and the Delta Vision Taskforce, they have recommended the conveyance around the Delta. And so the experts are going to go into that and are going to make those decisions.

Question: I'm assuming you may be familiar with the recent Pew Study that was released that sort of touts California as an example to other states of what not to do. Today we're here, you're signing off on an $11 billion new debt for this state. You're talking about leaving and making a trip to Iraq. Why are you doing all of these things while right now here in California Rome is burning?

Governor: I like your positive attitude. (Laughter) First of all, I think this was a historic agreement. I think that's something that has not been - no one was able to do, no governor, no legislature, in the last four decades. So I congratulate the legislators, I congratulate the legislative leaders and the environmentalists and farmers and the various different interests, labor, businesses and everyone to come together. So I think that one should celebrate that and that's what we are doing here today, to celebrate that.

And my trip, as far as my trip to Iraq is concerned, you know, we have men and women that have, for the last few hundred years, fought to protect the freedom of this country and its liberty and I as an immigrant appreciate that more than anyone. And I think it's very important that we take care of our veterans, which was yesterday we celebrated Veterans Day and talk about the very important issues that veterans are facing. And also it's very important that we do everything we can to create comfort in some way or the other also for our troops that are serving overseas.

Now, I have been over there in 2003 to visit the troops in Iraq and I'm looking forward to going over there next week again and to entertain them a little bit, work out with them, have breakfast with them, encourage them, bring them some cigars and have some schmoozing sessions with them. You like that schmooze word, huh? Schmoozing session, exactly. (Laughter) So I mean, that's what I do. And so I think this is all positive, it's all good, it's upbeat and we are celebrating.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814