Senate Budget Committee Hearing Addresses Climate Change’s Impact on Agriculture and Water Crisis in the West

The Senate Budget Committee’s 19th hearing will focus on climate change and economic instability, focusing on the tolls of widespread droughts and water crises. This topic could resonate with lawmakers from both sides of the aisle, particularly from agriculture-heavy states where crop yields are under constant threat due to more arid conditions. It could also appeal to lawmakers from the West, where the Colorado River water shortage is particularly severe. Witnesses include Tanya Trujillo, New Mexico’s deputy state engineer and the water policy adviser to Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, and Adel Hagekhalil, general manager and CEO of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.