BOARD AGENDA MEMORANDUM
SUBJECT:
Title
Approve the Recommended Position on the Nomination of Camille Calimlim Touton to be Commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
End
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Adopt a position of "Support" on the Nomination of Camille Calimlim Touton to be Commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
Body
SUMMARY:
Nomination of Camille Calimlim Touton to be Commissioner, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
Recommendation: Support
Priority Recommendation: 2
On June 18, 2021, President Joseph Biden nominated Camille Calimlim Touton to be Commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Ms. Touton has served as Deputy Commissioner and acting Commissioner since January. Prior to serving as Deputy Commissioner, Ms. Touton worked as a top aide on the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, the House Committee on Natural Resources, and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. She also served as a Deputy Assistant Secretary for Water and Science at the Department of the Interior under President Obama. A native of Nevada, she holds bachelor's degrees in civil engineering and communications from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and a Master of Public Policy from George Mason University. If confirmed, she would be the first Filipino American to lead Reclamation.
Status:
On June 18, 2021, President Biden announced his nomination of Ms. Touton to be Commissioner. The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources will now consider her nomination, but no hearing date has been set. Given that the Board will not meet again until August, however, staff recommends supporting her nomination now so that staff can submit a letter of support to the committee in advance of the hearing, which could happen in July.
Importance to Santa Clara Valley Water District (Valley Water):
Valley Water has a long-standing and close working relationship with Ms. Touton from her extensive experience on Capitol Hill and in the Obama a...
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