Providing for the Operations of the Federal Columbia River Power System

Floor Speech

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Ms. TSONGAS. Mr. Speaker, I join Ranking Member Grijalva in opposing this legislation and urge my colleagues to vote ``no.''

For 45 years, the Endangered Species Act has served as one of our Nation's bedrock environmental statutes. The bald eagle, the American alligator, and the gray whale are just a few examples of iconic species that have recovered from the brink of extinction thanks to the Endangered Species Act.

Despite its widely recognized success and broad support across State and party lines, today, the House is seeking to pass yet another bill that undermines this bedrock environmental law and causes irreparable harm to salmon and steelhead species, species that are already at great risk of extinction, species that play an irreplaceable role in the Pacific Northwest's ecosystem. Their presence benefits more than 130 other species, including the critically endangered Southern Resident killer whales, whose existence depends upon healthy salmon runs.

This is not just about the Pacific Northwest. Any effort to undermine the Endangered Species Act and, thereby, its protections for the species and landscapes that make our country uniquely American impacts us all.

Several Federal agencies and courts have determined that dam operations in the Columbia and Snake Rivers cause significant harm to 13 species or populations of salmon and steelhead listed under the Endangered Species Act.

Instead of allowing science-based management practices that protect both endangered species and the many users of these rivers, including hydropower generators, this legislation locks in a failing operation plan that has already been found in violation of the Endangered Species Act. Knowingly endangering the existence of salmon is in direct violation of the law and betrays the long bipartisan tradition of the Endangered Species Act.

Instead of rolling back critical safeguards and recovery efforts, we should reject this legislation and support a transparent stakeholder- driven process that protects endangered species and the many fishermen, businesses, communities, and Tribes who depend on a sustainable Columbia River.

I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on H.R. 3144.

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