[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 92 (Thursday, June 20, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1144]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 THE REASON WE'VE MADE ELWHA A PRIORITY

                                 ______


                            HON. RICK WHITE

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 20, 1996

  Mr. WHITE. Mr. Speaker, I consider myself one of the luckiest Members 
of this Chamber. My home is in the Puget Sound region of Washington 
State and I don't think there is a more beautiful area in this whole 
country. Our entire region is surrounded by water and mountains.
  Like the people in my district, I take our environment seriously. 
That is why I think we need to do a better job of preserving and 
protecting our environment than we are doing right now. In order to do 
that, we have to spend our environmental money where it can have the 
greatest positive impact.
  One example of how we can spend our money more efficiently is in 
restoring wild salmon runs to our Northwest rivers. The Federal 
Government now spends hundreds of millions of dollars every year to 
improve salmon runs on these rivers. Unfortunately, much of this money 
is wasted. We don't really know how to restore salmon runs in urban or 
heavy farming areas, and we end up spending lots of money with very 
little to show for it.
  One place where our money could really make a difference is on the 
Elwha River on the Olympic Peninsula. Almost all of the Elwha, from 
Mount Olympus to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, flows through the Olympic 
National Park. This environment is in the same pristine condition it 
was 100 years ago, when all five species of wild salmon returned to the 
river every year by the hundreds of thousands.
  The Interior bill that we are debating today is a massive bill that 
will determine how some of our money will be spent next year. Given the 
scope of this bill, I'm especially pleased that the Elwha project has 
been made one of the bill's three top priorities. In fact, the bill 
includes language that recognizes the Elwha River represents a unique 
opportunity to restore salmon runs in the Northwest without 
compromising our goal to balance the Federal budget.
  This is a perfect example of what this Congress is all about--smart 
spending.
  The first step in restoring salmon to the Elwha requires that we 
purchase the two dams that have been built on the river. Over the past 
month, I've had the pleasure of working with Chairman Regula, Chairman 
Livingston, Congressman Norm Dicks, the senior Senator from Washington 
State, Slade Gorton  as well as members of the Washington State 
delegation in an attempt to get some of the funds we need to move this 
project forward. We still have a lot of work ahead of us, but at least 
we are making progress.
  The bill that we will vote on today not only contains language making 
the Elwha project a top priority, it also gives the President the 
ability to use some of the money contained in this bill to purchase the 
Elwha dams. That is good news because the administration has made this 
project a priority. By passing this bill today, we give the 
administration the chance to turn their talk into action by using some 
of the money in this bill to buy the dams.
  In these times of tight budgets it's a tragedy to waste a single 
dollar that is designated for the environment, because it may be 
difficult to replace that dollar in the future. If we can continue to 
keep focused on spending our environmental money where it can really 
have an impact, we will improve our environment so that it can be 
enjoyed today and in the future.

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