[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 107 (Tuesday, July 5, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H4252-H4253]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          SAVE OUR SALMON ACT

  Mrs. LUMMIS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 4582) to exclude striped bass from the anadromous fish 
doubling requirement in section 3406(b)(1) of the Central Valley 
Project Improvement Act, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 4582

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Save Our Salmon Act'' or the 
     ``SOS Act''.

     SEC. 2. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS.

       Congress finds the following:
       (1) California is home to many populations of native salmon 
     and steelhead.
       (2) Many of the native salmon and steelhead populations in 
     California are listed under the Endangered Species Act of 
     1973.
       (3) The Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA) 
     required a doubling of natural production of Central Valley 
     populations of anadromous fish within 10 years.
       (4) Striped bass are anadromous fish indigenous to the East 
     Coast of the United States and are not native to the State of 
     California.
       (5) Striped bass were included in the CVPIA's fish doubling 
     goal even though they are not a native species.
       (6) Striped bass prey on native salmon and steelhead.
       (7) Predation poses a serious threat to federally protected 
     juvenile salmon and other native fish in California.
       (8) According to the National Marine Fisheries Service, 
     reducing abundance of striped bass and other non-native 
     predators must be achieved to prevent extinction of Central 
     Valley salmon and steelhead or to prevent the species from 
     declining irreversibly.
       (9) Therefore, the CVPIA's fish-doubling goal for two 
     competing species is contradictory and counterproductive for 
     salmon and steelhead recovery.

     SEC. 3. TREATMENT OF STRIPED BASS.

       (a) Anadromous Fish.--Section 3403(a) of the Central Valley 
     Project Improvement Act (title XXXIV of Public Law 102-575) 
     is amended by striking ``striped bass,'' after ``stocks of 
     salmon (including steelhead),''.
       (b) Fish and Wildlife Restoration Activities.--Section 
     3406(b) of the Central Valley Project Improvement Act (title 
     XXXIV of Public Law 102-575) is amended by--
       (1) striking paragraphs (14) and (18);
       (2) redesignating paragraphs (15) through (17) as 
     paragraphs (14) through (16), respectively; and
       (3) redesignating paragraphs (19) through (23) as 
     paragraphs (17) through (21), respectively.
       (c) Restoration Fund Established.--Section 3407(a) of the 
     Central Valley Project Improvement Act (title XXXIV of Public 
     Law 102-575) is amended by striking ``(10)-(18), and (20)-
     (22)'' and inserting ``(10)-(16), and (18)-(20)''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Wyoming (Mrs. Lummis) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Costa) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Wyoming.


                             General Leave

  Mrs. LUMMIS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Wyoming?
  There was no objection.
  Mrs. LUMMIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Denham), the author of this bill.
  Mr. DENHAM. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4582, the Save Our Salmon Act, which I 
introduced earlier this year, removes a contradiction in Federal law. 
This Federal law mandates that not only do we double the amount of 
threatened and endangered species, the salmon and steelhead, that we 
spend so much time, effort, and money trying to save, but the 
contradiction is it also wants us to double the striped bass that eat 
98 percent of the fish we are trying to save.
  This is a simple bill that is bipartisan that will save taxpayer 
dollars and that will save our water in California while addressing 
what we feel is a simple mistake.
  Under the Central Valley Project Improvement Act, the CVPIA, this 
doubling goal was set in place in 1992. Again, the steelhead and the 
salmon are being eaten by the striped bass, which is a nonnative 
predator fish. This mandated population doubling of the predator fish 
has proven contradictory to protecting native species under the 
Endangered Species Act.
  This bill not only removes this provision, but at the request of the 
administration, my bill also removes other sections in the CVPIA which 
provide for the implementation of the strategies to double the striped 
bass.
  NOAA, NMFS, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife have 
all indicated that predation of juvenile salmon is one of the primary 
stressors to these endangered species. In California, predation is 
rampant.
  Predation of endangered fish in California continues to be one of the 
major factors in the complex equation of California water and the 
drought that our State faces. By eliminating this contradictory 
provision in the CVPIA, native species will again thrive without 
wasting the massive amounts of freshwater and taxpayer dollars 
currently required to do so.
  Again, this is a commonsense, easy solution for Republicans and 
Democrats to agree on. If we want to save the threatened endangered 
species, let's stop spending so much money on the very fish that eat 98 
percent of the fish that we are trying to save.
  I want to thank my colleagues from both sides of the aisle for 
cosponsoring this legislation, and I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 
4582.
  Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to commend the author, as the original cosponsor 
of this important legislation, for trying to provide a balancing act in 
maintaining the waters for all beneficial uses in California.
  This legislation by Congressman Denham that has good bipartisan 
support, H.R. 4582, is known also as the Save Our Salmon Act. It would 
amend the Central Valley Project Improvement to exempt striped bass 
from the law's fish-doubling goals.
  One should understand that striped bass is a nonnative fish to 
California that was introduced in the late 1800s. Unfortunately, for 
the native salmon, the delta smelt, and other native fisheries, the 
striped bass is a very aggressive predator fish. The fact is that they 
eat not only juvenile salmon, but they eat delta smelt, which is part 
of the food chain for the salmon. As a result of this introduction, the 
striped bass are thriving, but, unfortunately, the native salmon of 
California are not.
  This measure, H.R. 4582, is the first step in a range of overall 
policy decisions that we have got to take under consideration. Common 
sense tells us that we must look at all--all--of the stressors that are 
impacting the native fisheries of California. This attempts to do that 
to aid salmon recovery by providing, also, an additional, more reliable 
water supply for Californians.
  Those in the San Joaquin Valley that Congressman Denham, others, and 
I represent have been devastated by the impact of the drought over the 
last 4, now going on 5, years. Farms, farm communities, and farmworkers 
have lost their jobs as a result of a zero--zero--water allocation. We 
don't even have a program to deal with what the Fish and Wildlife 
agencies have indicated is one of the greatest impacts of native 
species, which are predator fish. We don't have a predator control 
program as we have on the Columbia River. It is about time we do 
something about it.
  While there are many stressors that impact the California salmon 
populations, thereby impacting the water supply reliability for much of 
California, this measure attempts to begin to do something about the 
predator problem.
  I want to commend again Congressman Denham for his ongoing efforts, 
along with all of us, on a bipartisan effort to look at an overall 
balanced solution.
  I support H.R. 4582, and I urge its adoption.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mrs. LUMMIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I want to commend these California Members. I have been to their 
districts. I have seen and been at hearings in Fresno where these 
issues have come to my level of understanding of now a

[[Page H4253]]

sympathetic outsider. These issues are almost intractable. When we see 
bipartisan support on something this important to the economy, to the 
farmers and ranchers, to the wonderful ecosystems that they are trying 
to balance in a way that will conserve farming and ranching, that 
benefits every consumer in this country of some of the finest fruits, 
vegetables, and other commodities that you can ever imagine. I mean, 
this is like the breadbasket of our country. To find ways to combat 
nonnative species in a way that protects native species and also 
protects the people who produce our food and fiber is so important.
  I commend the gentlemen from California on both sides of the aisle 
and their colleagues.
  I want to offer my complete support of H.R. 4582.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from Wyoming (Mrs. Lummis) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 4582, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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