	Introduction

Several western states, including California, Oregon, Nevada, Washington, and portions of Montana and Idaho, are experiencing extreme—and in some cases exceptional—drought conditions. To date, federal legislative proposals to address drought have focused on the persistence and intensity of the drought in the western states and the federal role in managing water supplies, supporting drought-related projects and programs, and conserving fish species and their habitat. A number of bills have been introduced in the 114 th Congress that would address drought. These bills include S. 176 , S. 1837 , S. 1894 , H.R. 3045 , among others. Two of these bills in particular, H.R. On July 17, 2015, H.R. 2898 , the Western Water and American Food Security Act, was passed by the House. The House bill has 11 titles, which address a wide range of issues. On July 29, 2015, S. 1894 , the California Emergency Drought Relief Act of 2015, was introduced in the Senate. This report summarizes the provisions of S. 1894 , as introduced, and H.R. 2898 , as passed by the House. It identifies comparable provisions between the two bills and discusses some of the ways in which those provisions overlap or differ. It also summarizes selected other major provisions in each bill. Some of these provisions would be triggered by drought conditions or declarations, and others would result in permanent changes in water management. Issues Addressed in Both Bills

Several drought-related issues are addressed in both H.R. For example, both bills contain multiple sections that focus on infrastructure and water conveyance in California, often specifically pertaining to management of the federal Central Valley Project (CVP). Other sections discuss common goals to address drought on a broader scale, the most notable of which are construction of new surface water storage projects and amendments to Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) authority under the SECURE Water Act (Title IV of P.L. Operational changes associated with compliance with the Endangered Species Act (ESA; 16 U.S.C. §§1531-1543) aim to protect and recover threatened and endangered species. 2898 and S. 1894 include provisions that would address water conveyance and flows in relation to fish populations listed under ESA. For example, H.R. S. 1894 does not have this broad directive to potentially change parts of the Delta smelt BiOp; however, under Section 101(a)(8), S. 1894 would direct the Secretaries of Commerce and the Interior (the Secretaries) to use all scientific tools to identify changes to the real-time operations of Reclamation and of state and local water projects that could increase water supplies. 2898 would amend the Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA; P.L. 2898 would require the Secretary of the Interior to notify the state of California if implementation of the salmon and smelt BiOps under the act reduces environmental protections, S. 1894 would require notification of changes in implementation of the BiOps and confirmation that they are authorized under the respective documents. 2898: Other Issues Addressed

H.R. 2898 includes a number of sections that are not included in S. 1894 . S. 1894: Other Issues Addressed

S. 1894 contains several titles and individual provisions that are not in H.R. Issues for Congress

Among the key issues for Congress is how to address water supply shortages in general and management of federal water supply projects in particular during times of drought and increasing demand. Both bills call for maximizing water supplies to users, with certain limitations.
Several western states are experiencing extreme, and in some cases exceptional, drought conditions. The persistence and intensity of the current drought has received considerable attention from Congress. To date, federal legislative proposals to address drought have focused on the federal role in managing water supplies, supporting drought-related projects and programs, and conserving fish species and their habitat.
A number of bills in the 114th Congress include proposals to address drought, including S. 176, S. 1837, S. 1894, H.R. 2898, and H.R. 3045, among others. Two of these bills have received significant attention as potential legislative vehicles for drought proposals and are compared in this report: H.R. 2898 and S. 1894. H.R. 2898, the Western Water and American Food Security Act, was passed by the House on July 17, 2015. The House bill has 11 titles. S. 1894, the California Emergency Drought Relief Act of 2015, was introduced in the Senate on July 29, 2015. The Senate bill includes 4 titles. Both bills address a wide range of drought issues, including those that are specific to the state of California and those that are regional or national in scope.
This report provides a high-level comparison of S. 1894 (as introduced) and H.R. 2898 (as passed by the House). It identifies comparable issue areas addressed in both bills and discusses selected commonalities and differences between those provisions. It also summarizes selected provisions in each bill that are not addressed in the other bill.
Certain issues are addressed in both pieces of legislation. For example, both bills contain multiple sections that focus on water infrastructure and water conveyance in California. These sections include provisions that would address operations of the federal Central Valley Project (CVP) and the California State Water Project (SWP) as they relate to managing water flows and conserving endangered and threatened fish populations (i.e., the Delta smelt and certain salmon species) listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA; 16 U.S.C. §§1531-1543). Some of these provisions would be triggered by drought conditions, whereas others would be permanent changes. Other sections address common goals throughout the West, such as the facilitation of new surface water storage projects.
Although the bills address some common issue areas and include some similar provisions, their approaches often differ in important ways. For instance, S. 1894 provides broad guidance for the Secretaries of the Interior and Commerce to maximize water deliveries in accordance with applicable laws; H.R. 2898 has a similar directive but also includes a number of specific requirements that could alter the current implementation of biological opinions (BiOps) under the ESA.
Outside of common issue areas addressed in both bills, each would also authorize a number of changes that have no obvious corollary in the other bill. For example, H.R. 2898 includes provisions that would alter implementation of the Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA; P.L. 102-575), which is not addressed in S. 1894. Similarly, S. 1894 contains new authorities related to water reuse and recycling, which are not addressed in H.R. 2898.
Key issues raised by these bills include how to address the management of federal water supply projects in times of drought and how to handle the overall increasing demands for water supplies despite scarce water resources. Congress may also consider whether federal law and its implementation adequately address the balance between competing demands (e.g., fishery conservation and agricultural use) for limited supplies and whether changes are warranted during drought and/or under other circumstances.