PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.
H.R.4225 / 111th Congress

To authorize drought assistance adjustments to provide immediate funding for projects and activities that will help alleviate record unemployment and diminished agricultural production related to the drought in California.

Subcommittee Hearings Held.

Official summary

Version 00 · Introduced in House · Dec 8, 2009

Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to use funds provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 or appropriation measures through FY2012 for any required non-federal share of the cost of projects that: (1) are funded by the federal government; (2) are located in an area that either has been identified by the U.S. Drought Monitor as experiencing severe, extreme, or exceptional drought within the 24 months prior to this Act's enactment or has been designated as a disaster area by California during 2009; (3) will make progress towards providing a more reliable water supply for California and protecting, restoring, and enhancing the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta ecosystem, will increase water management flexibility, or will reduce impacts on environmental resources from projects operated by the California State Department of Water Resources, the California State Department of Fish and Game, the Bureau of Reclamation, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, or other relevant state and federal agencies; (4) show potential to restore agriculture production or agricultural employment for such areas; and (5) have made significant progress in the completion of any necessary environmental or public review.

Directs that the use of funds for the nonfederal share of projects as authorized in this Act be considered a drought assistance adjustment. Requires the Secretary to establish criteria for calculating such adjustments utilizing existing practices for adjustments in water service and repayment rates.

Read the summary on Congress.gov
PlainBill analysis is coming later. This page presents official source data. We have not yet published a PlainBill explanation for this bill.

Who introduced it

Rep. Costa, Jim [D-CA-20] · D–CA

Committees

  • Natural Resources Committee
1 cosponsorship records, including any withdrawals

Actions

A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.

  1. Subcommittee Hearings Held.

  2. Referred to the Subcommittee on Water and Power.

  3. Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.

  4. Introduced in House

  5. Introduced in House

Bill text & related measures

Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.

Related bills identified by Congress.gov

No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.

Source last updated: Apr 7, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.

Explore the bill from different angles

Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.

Neutral evidence review

Objective

Analyze H.R.4225 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.

View full prompt & sources
Fairness and public impact

Progressive lens

Examine H.R.4225 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.

View full prompt & sources
Institutions and government scope

Conservative lens

Examine H.R.4225 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.

View full prompt & sources
Individual rights and government power

Liberty lens

Examine H.R.4225 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.

View full prompt & sources