[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 67 (Wednesday, April 25, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H3542-H3560]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1500
PROVIDING FOR THE OPERATIONS OF THE FEDERAL COLUMBIA RIVER POWER SYSTEM

  Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 839, I 
call up the bill (H.R. 3144) to provide for operations of the Federal 
Columbia River Power System pursuant to a certain operation plan for a 
specified period of time, and for other purposes, and ask for its 
immediate consideration in the House.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Byrne). Pursuant to House Resolution 
839, the amendment printed in part B of House Report 115-650 is 
adopted, and the bill, as amended, is considered read.
  The text of the bill, as amended, is as follows:

                               H.R. 3144

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

     SECTION 1. DEFINITIONS.

       For the purposes of this Act:
       (1) FCRPS.--The term ``FCRPS'' means those portions of the 
     Federal Columbia River Power System that are the subject of 
     the Supplemental Opinion.
       (2) Secretaries.--The term ``Secretaries'' means--
       (A) the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the 
     Bureau of Reclamation;
       (B) the Secretary of Energy, acting through the Bonneville 
     Power Administration; and

[[Page H3543]]

       (C) Secretaries of the Army, acting through the Army Corps 
     of Engineers.
       (3) Supplemental opinion.--The term ``Supplemental 
     Opinion'' means the document titled ``Endangered Species Act 
     Section 7(a)(2) Supplemental Biological Opinion'', NOAA 
     Fisheries Log Number NWR-2013-9562, and dated January 17, 
     2014, which supplements, without replacing, the 2008 and 2010 
     FCRPS Biological Opinions and the Reasonable and Prudent 
     Alternative contained therein.

     SEC. 2. OPERATION OF FCRPS.

       The Secretaries shall operate the FCRPS in a manner 
     consistent with the reasonable and prudent alternative set 
     forth in the Supplemental Opinion until the later of the 
     following dates:
       (1) September 30, 2022.
       (2) The date upon which a subsequent final biological 
     opinion for the FCRPS operations is--
       (A) issued after completion of the final environmental 
     impact statement on a record of decision for a new operations 
     plan for the FCRPS; and
       (B) in effect, with no pending further judicial review.

     SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO SUPPLEMENTAL OPINION.

       (a) In General.--Notwithstanding section 2, the Secretaries 
     may amend portions of the Supplemental Opinion and operate 
     the FCRPS in accordance with such amendments, before the date 
     established under section 2 if all of the Secretaries 
     determine, in the sole discretion of each Secretary, that--
       (1) the amendment is necessary for public safety or 
     transmission and grid reliability; or
       (2) the actions, operations, or other requirements that the 
     amendment would remove are no longer warranted.
       (b) Restriction on Amendments.--The process described in 
     subsection (a) shall be the only method by which the 
     Secretaries may operate the FCRPS during the time period 
     established under section 2 in any way that is not consistent 
     with the reasonable and prudent alternatives set forth in the 
     Supplemental Opinion.

     SEC. 4. LIMITATION ON RESTRICTING FCRPS ELECTRICAL GENERATION 
                   OR NAVIGATION ON THE SNAKE RIVER.

       No structural modification, action, study, or engineering 
     plan that restricts electrical generation at any FCRPS 
     hydroelectric dam, or that limits navigation on the Snake 
     River in the State of Washington, Oregon, or Idaho, shall 
     proceed unless such proposal is specifically and expressly 
     authorized by an Act of Congress enacted after the date of 
     enactment of this Act. Nothing in this section affects or 
     interferes with the authority of the Secretaries to conduct 
     operation and maintenance activities or make capital 
     improvements necessary to meet authorized project purposes of 
     FCRPS facilities.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The bill, as amended, shall be debatable for 
1 hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority 
member of the Committee on Natural Resources.
  The gentleman from Utah (Mr. Bishop) and the gentleman from Arizona 
(Mr. Grijalva) each will control 30 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Utah.


                             General Leave

  Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 3144.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Utah?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I yield 8 minutes to the gentlewoman 
from Washington (Mrs. McMorris Rodgers), the sponsor, to introduce this 
piece of legislation.
  Mrs. McMORRIS RODGERS. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Bishop for 
yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, Congress created the Bonneville Power Administration, or 
BPA, in 1937 on the heels of the Great Depression to distribute power 
generated from the development of two federally authorized dams: 
Bonneville and Grand Coulee Dam.
  Our dams transformed Washington State from what was a barren, dry 
land into one of the most productive agriculture regions in the world.
  These marvels of engineering also provided the Pacific Northwest with 
the Nation's cheapest and most reliable energy supply.
  During World War II, it was the Federal power supplied by BPA that 
was instrumental in the ramp-up of the aluminum industry that went into 
Boeing's B-17s and B-29s, and powered the production of nearly 750 
large ships before the end of the war.
  In the words of President Harry Truman: ``Without Grand Coulee and 
Bonneville, it would have been almost impossible to win this war.''
  In 1945, Congress authorized the construction of four large dams 
along the Snake River, Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose, and 
Lower Granite, to grow what we call today the Federal Columbia River 
Power System.
  These four dams can power up to nearly 2 million homes, or a city the 
size of Seattle, and are crucial to meet BPA's peak loads during those 
hottest days in the summer when the wind doesn't blow or the coldest 
days in the winter when we do not have sunlight.
  This year, eastern Washington had a harsh winter with many days below 
freezing. During the coldest days, BPA relied on the ability of these 
four dams to ramp up production and meet the demand.
  Without a reliable base load source, I feared, and BPA confirmed, 
many in eastern Washington would have lost power.
  It is important to look back at history when we think about BPA, the 
Columbia River system, and the future of energy in our region.
  Last week, BPA made its 34th consecutive payment of $1.3 billion to 
the U.S. Treasury. They were able to do this because of the value of 
our region's low-cost, carbon-free energy, as a result of selling the 
hydropower production along the Columbia River. In fact, in Washington 
State, nearly 70 percent of our energy comes from hydropower.
  Some argue that these dams in particular have negatively impacted 
migratory fish, yet these dams average fish survival rates of nearly 97 
percent.
  And while recent ocean impacts, which scientists call a ``blob,'' 
have slowed salmon just the last couple of years, more total salmon 
have returned this year than before the dams were actually put in 
place.
  More than 600,000 fall Chinook are forecasted this year, many times 
higher than when they were first listed under the Endangered Species 
Act.
  These record-setting fish passage rates are a result of significant 
Federal investments in new technologies, like fish-friendly turbines, 
habitat restoration, and local collaboration.
  I mention the local collaboration because I want to quote the 
Columbia River system Adaptive Management Implementation Plan that was 
produced by the Department of Interior, BPA, the U.S. Army Corps, and 
NOAA: ``The Obama administration undertook an extensive effort to 
review the 2008 Biological Opinion'' and found ``the 2008 BiOp is 
biologically and legally sound, based on the best available scientific 
information, and satisfies the ESA jeopardy standard.''
  Our river system also functions as a superhighway for agriculture 
goods. My home State of Washington is the most trade-dependent State in 
the country, and because of the river system, last year alone, it saved 
having 160,000 trucks on the roads.
  This BiOp is supported by the States, by Tribes, by utilities, ports, 
irrigation districts, and other Pacific Northwest water users.
  The need for this legislation became clear when an unelected judge 
rejected the collaborative work, claiming that he knows better how to 
manage the Columbia River than all of the scientists, Tribes, elected 
officials, and others that are using the river every day.
  This Oregon Federal district judge invalidated the BiOp and set a 
course that will likely put BPA's future and the yearly investments of 
hundreds of millions of dollars in jeopardy.
  He wants us to start at the beginning and put breaching the dams back 
on the table.
  Electricity rates have gone up nearly 30 percent the last few years, 
with an average increase of 5.4 percent for 2018 and 2019. Adding 
unnecessary litigation and additional spill requirements only add to 
these costs.
  For example, Judge Simon granted a spill order on April 3 that will 
cost an estimated $40 million to ratepayers in the Pacific Northwest. 
Mandating spill means that huge amounts of water will go over the dam 
24 hours a day 7 days a week, instead of actually producing 
electricity. This spill order is experimental science that will likely 
increase power costs, decrease the grid's reliability, hurt habitat, 
and actually kill fish.

  In 2028, utilities will be renegotiating their contracts, and they 
are making decisions now. This uncertainty is plaguing the Pacific 
Northwest and the Columbia River system.
  As a result, I am proud of the work that we have done, coming 
together in

[[Page H3544]]

a bipartisan way to support this legislation to provide certainty. This 
bill will codify the current BiOp until 2022, and prevent unnecessary 
costs to people and ratepayers all around the Pacific Northwest. It 
also reasserts Congress' authority over the dams.
  A hearing was held in the Natural Resources Committee last fall, and 
the bill recently passed out of committee with bipartisan support. 
Technical changes were made to ensure necessary maintenance, and 
improvements to the Army Corps dams would continue without 
interruption.
  We hear the other side talk about being against the status quo, 
calling it illegal and an unprecedented assault on the Endangered 
Species Act.
  Unfortunately, this narrative is misleading and it doesn't take into 
account the whole picture nor the success of the dams.
  For example, the Port of Clarkston has seen new business from the 
American Queen Steamboat Company, tourism that is coming to our 
communities that is bringing jobs and bringing people.
  This bill is a fiscally responsible alternative to the current 
judicial overreach that doesn't take into account all of the river 
users. If enacted, the certainty provided will reduce costs on the 
people of eastern Washington by stopping this $40 million spill 
experiment, encourage clean energy, lower carbon emissions, and save 
taxpayers $16 million, while saving fish.
  Bottom line, dams and fish can coexist. After more than two decades 
in the courtroom, let's let the scientists, not one judge, manage our 
river system, and get to work to further improve fish recovery efforts.
  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the bill we are debating today, I am sorry to say, is 
yet another attempt by my Republican colleagues to accelerate the 
extinction of our Nation's fisheries.
  H.R. 3144 weakens protections for several runs of wild salmon and 
steelhead in the Pacific Northwest, which are extremely important to 
commercial, recreational, and tribal fishing interests.
  This is the worst possible time for such an extreme approach. Last 
year, for the first time, Federal scientists surveying the Pacific 
Northwest salmon population came up with empty nets, and yet here we 
are moving a bill that will only worsen the salmon crisis.
  While disappointing, I can't say today's bill is entirely surprising. 
In fact, this bill is just the latest attack by my Republican 
colleagues in their broader war on salmon and the salmon fishing 
industry.
  We saw these same attacks on salmon when House Republicans jammed 
H.R. 23, also known as the GROW Act, through the House recently.
  This bill sought to eliminate protection for California salmon and 
put California's native fisheries on the path to extinction, meaning 
thousands of job losses across California, Oregon, and Washington 
State.
  House Republicans pushed the bill through even though estimates show 
that 78 percent of California's native salmon will be extinct this 
century under current trends.
  Instead of trying to counter these trends, House Republicans decided 
it was more important to help some of their big business buddies who 
would rather drain our public rivers even further for private profit.
  Now we are here today with another bill that harms our wild salmon 
and the businesses that depend on their existence.
  It is no surprise that our committee received numerous letters from 
businesses and fishing industry groups opposed to H.R. 3144.
  The committee also received several letters from guiding and outdoor 
retail businesses, the food industry, and from many other businesses 
that depend on functioning ecosystems and the Columbia Basin salmon.
  Aside from being bad for many businesses, this bill also represents a 
troubling attack on our Nation's bedrock environmental laws and the 
legal process.
  Since the early 1990s, Federal courts have found the Federal dam 
operations at the Federal Columbia River Power System endanger the 
existence of the Pacific Northwest salmon runs and violate our Nation's 
laws, including the Endangered Species Act.
  As a result, Federal agents have been ordered several times to 
develop a new dam operation plan to recover the region's dwindling 
salmon populations.
  Instead of requiring Federal dam operations to finally come into 
compliance with the law and develop a salmon recovery plan that works, 
H.R. 3144 locks in an outdated, illegal plan until at least 2022 that 
will cause great harm to wild salmon and struggling fishing 
communities.
  Furthermore, this bill blocks recent court orders requiring 
additional salmon protection measures at Federal dams. It also bans 
Federal agencies from even studying the possible changes to dam 
operations that can improve salmon survival, such as increased spill.
  In short, this bill causes great harm to wild salmon and many 
businesses, Tribes, and communities that depend on it.
  Mr. Speaker, for these reasons, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no,'' 
and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman 
from Washington State (Ms. Herrera Beutler), who lives in this area and 
knows firsthand what is taking place there.
  Ms. HERRERA BEUTLER. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Bishop for 
yielding time for me to speak on this important legislation, and for 
the work his committee has been doing to support vibrant salmon runs, 
as well as protect low-cost, renewable, clean energy.

  Leading scientists and Federal agencies, Northwest States, sovereign 
Tribes, and notably, the Obama administration, crafted what is known as 
the 2014 Biological Opinion on how the Columbia River Federal 
hydropower system should operate.
  The BiOp, as it is called, was developed with the utmost standards of 
integrity and transparency, and importantly, collaboration. 
Conservative Republicans and the Obama administration got together and 
used the best available science.
  Under this plan's implementation, we have seen several years of 
record or near record returns of adult salmon.
  The plan is working, so why are we here today?
  Unfortunately, in 2016, a U.S. district judge rejected the 2014 BiOp 
and ordered the Federal agencies start the process over, with a 
requirement that they look at breaching the four Snake River dams.
  Here is the reality. I can't express how important this hydro system 
is for the entire Northwest. I have heard you couldn't match the energy 
produced by these dams with six or more coal-fired power plants. None 
of us want to return to that.
  More recently, that same judge who issued the order issued a mandated 
spill over the Columbia and Snake River dams.
  Now, spill occurs when water and young migrating salmon are shot over 
the dams.

                              {time}  1515

  Spill is like medicine. The right dosage can help you, but too much 
can harm or even kill you. The same is true for salmon.
  The judge's ruling lacked scientific backing, as Federal fisheries 
scientists believe these spill mandates will provide little or no 
benefits to juvenile salmon or returning adult salmon. And as we have 
seen, these actions are not only in blatant contradiction to the best 
available science, they are also a direct attack on ratepayers, the 
families and small businesses, and the local economies who depend on 
affordable, clean, reliable energy.
  Ratepayers in our region spend almost up to $1 billion a year, when 
all is said and done, on protecting these wild runs through science-
backed spill that already takes place in other mitigation efforts. But 
abusive litigation robs hundreds of millions of dollars per year of 
hard-earned tax money from the pockets of my constituents. The price 
tag on the judge's spill mandates are estimated to be an additional $40 
million taken from ratepayers this year.
  So now we find ourselves here today needing to pass H.R. 3144 for the 
sake of salmon runs, for the sake of our ratepayers, and for the sake 
of the environment. Again, this is not a partisan bill; in fact, it is 
bipartisan, and

[[Page H3545]]

it represents restoring the Obama administration-led collaborative plan 
to responsibly manage our salmon populations and hydroelectric 
infrastructure.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
  Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentlewoman from 
Washington an additional 30 seconds.
  Ms. HERRERA BEUTLER. The exact same opponents of this bill who claim 
it would ``gut'' protections--I repeat, the exact same groups--asked 
the court to keep the 2014 BiOp in place. So, basically, before they 
opposed it, the bill's opponents asked to do exactly what our bill 
does.
  So scientists, Federal agencies of jurisdiction, and, yes, at one 
time, even the bill's opponents have said that the agencies should 
operate under the 2014 BiOp while a new plan is developed.
  This is a vote for listed salmon because it keeps current measures in 
place, and we know that they are working. This is a vote for the 
region's economy, and it avoids wasting millions of dollars. And this 
is a vote for the environment because we cannot match the clean, 
renewable energy produced by our hydro system.
  I urge a ``yes'' vote.
  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Massachusetts (Ms. Tsongas), a member of the Natural Resources 
Committee.
  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.
  Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman 
from Oregon (Mr. Schrader), another person who lives in this area and 
realizes that this judicial decision is not necessarily based on 
science and can actually do harm to the endangered species.
  Mr. SCHRADER. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the following 
letters from the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, 
United Power Trades Organization, and the National Electrical 
Contractors Association.

                                                        NRECA,

                                    Arlington, VA, March 14, 2018.
     Hon. Rob Bishop,
     Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources,
     House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
     Hon. Raul Grijalva,
     Ranking Member, Committee on Natural Resources, House of 
         Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Bishop and Ranking Member Grijalva: On behalf 
     of America's electric cooperatives, I write to express strong 
     support for H.R. 3144 to require federal agencies responsible 
     for the management of the Federal Columbia River Power System 
     (FCRPS) to operate the hydropower system in a manner 
     consistent with the current operations plan.
       Fifty-four rural electric cooperatives in seven Western 
     states receive reliable federal hydropower from the FCRPS. 
     For this reason, NRECA opposes actions that bring continued 
     uncertainty to the FCRPS and the Bonneville Power 
     Administration's (BPA) future hydropower operations. For 
     decades, there has been uncertainty over the operations of 
     existing hydropower in the Pacific Northwest due to federal 
     regulations, court orders and other administrative decisions. 
     This continued uncertainty to the FCRPS continues to affect 
     BPA's future power generation, rates and reliability in the 
     region, and in turn the cooperative systems that depend upon 
     it for reliable and affordable electric service to their 
     communities.
       The FCRPS is paramount to power generation in the Pacific 
     Northwest, and to California, Nevada, Wyoming and Montana. 
     The FCRPS is the largest source of clean, renewable 
     electricity in the Pacific Northwest. It encompasses 31 
     multi-purpose federally-owned dams along the Columbia and 
     Snake Rivers and accounts for nearly 40 percent of total U.S. 
     hydroelectric generation. Its hydropower not only provides 
     energy for baseload needs and peak times, but also serves as 
     a backup generation source for intermittent wind and solar 
     power. This gives the Pacific Northwest and our cooperatives 
     an environmental edge unmatched elsewhere in the country--as 
     a non-CO2 emitting resource. But due to the long-
     standing litigation surrounding the FCRPS for Endangered 
     Species Act-listed salmon and steelhead, there continues to 
     be uncertainty over BPA's future hydropower operations. 
     Specifically, BPA's fish and wildlife mitigation program 
     continues to be a significant cost driver which adversely 
     affects our cooperatives' abilities to provide affordable 
     electricity.
       Since 1978, BPA has committed nearly $15.9 billion to 
     support Northwest fish and wildlife recovery. BPA's fish and 
     wildlife mitigation program is the largest in the nation, and 
     quite possibly the world. Each year, cooperatives and 
     ratepayers fund BPA's habitat restoration efforts to open 
     valuable habitat in the Columbia River estuary and 
     tributaries, add water to streams, and support cool water 
     temperatures. In 2012, BPA directly invested more than $450 
     million to address the impacts of federal dams. These 
     activities included protecting land and water habitat, 
     implementing projects across the Columbia River Basin, and 
     supporting better fish passage. Specifically, BPA has made 
     huge long-term investments in large-scale structural and 
     operational changes to further improve existing fish passage 
     routes as well as to provide new, safe passage structures to 
     these dams.
       Therefore, by upholding the 2014 Supplemental Biological 
     Opinion, H.R. 3144 appropriately balances environmental and 
     economic demands while also protecting existing hydropower 
     resources in the Pacific Northwest. For these and other 
     reasons, NRECA urges support for H.R. 3144 in committee and 
     swift advancement to the House floor.
           Sincerely,

                                                 Jim Matheson,

                                           National Rural Electric
     Cooperative Association.
                                  ____

                                                      United Power


                                          Trades Organization,

                                West Richland, WA, March 22, 2018.
     Hon. Rob Bishop,
     Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources,
     House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
     Hon. Raul Grijalva,
     Ranking Member, Committee on Natural Resources, House of 
         Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Bishop and Ranking Member Grijalva, I am 
     writing on behalf of the United Power Trades Organization 
     (UPTO) to express our support for H.R. 3144 which requires 
     federal agencies to manage the Federal Columbia River Power 
     System (FCRPS) in accordance with the 2014 Supplemental 
     Biological Opinion (Bi-Op). UPTO represents over 600 blue 
     collar employees that work at the U.S. Army Corps of 
     Engineers dams on the Columbia-Snake River system.
       Our organization is made up of not only maintenance 
     personnel, but power plant operators who are responsible for 
     operating the lock and dam facilities in accordance with the 
     Bi-Op. I have been one of those operators for over 30 years 
     and have personally seen the improvements made at our 
     facilities that have greatly improved fish survival. It is 
     very frustrating when outside interests persuade judicial 
     orders that change the way we operate to the detriment of 
     fish survival.
       Contrary to misinformation that has been widely reported, 
     spilling water over the dams has not been the primary reason 
     for increases in fish survival through the Columbia-Snake 
     River system. There have been many reasons that fish survival 
     has improved including habitat restoration, better oceanic 
     conditions and summer flow augmentation. But a major reason 
     for improved

[[Page H3546]]

     fish survival is the transportation program. Fish entering 
     the generating turbine intakes are directed by rotating 
     screens into bypass channels to fish collection facilities 
     where they are loaded on to barges and given a free ride to 
     below Bonneville dam where they are released back in to the 
     river. Fish transported by barge are five times more likely 
     to survive than those that traverse the river.
       Spilling water over the dams not only costs the taxpayers 
     millions in lost power generation, but is actually 
     detrimental to fish survival. Fish that pass through the 
     spillgates are not collected for transport by barge, thus 
     less likely to survive than those that are collected. In 
     addition, the more water that is spilled over the dams, the 
     more supersaturation of nitrogen in the water occurs 
     resulting in gas bubble trauma to juvenile fish. More spill 
     just doesn't make sense in that it is costly economically, 
     doesn't help the fish, and can even be detrimental to fish 
     survival.
       H.R. 3144 is important in that it continues programs and 
     operating procedures that have been proven extremely 
     successful in migrating fish survival. The Bi-Op is working 
     and making changes make absolutely no sense. Fish returns are 
     higher than what they were prior to the first dam built on 
     the Columbia-Snake river system and, although hatchery fish 
     are returning in large numbers, natural fish returns are up 
     as well too. Fish survival through the Columbia-Snake River 
     dams are at levels that meet or exceed those on rivers that 
     don't have dams. The current Bi-Op is the most science-based, 
     comprehensive and expensive effort to restore an endangered 
     species in the nation. $1.6 billion have been invested in new 
     technologies and, when operated according to the Bi-Op, have 
     proven that the dams and fish can co-exist.
       Continuing to operate the dams according to the Bi-Op is 
     imperative for continued high rate of survival for migrating 
     fish. H.R. 3144 requires that continuity and is therefore 
     imperative to the continued high survival rate of migrating 
     fish. UPTO urges support for H.R. 3144 in committee and swift 
     advancement to the House floor.
           Sincerely,

                                             Jack W. Heffling,

                                                        President,
     United Power Trades Organization.
                                  ____

                                               National Electrical


                                      Contractors Association,

                                     Bethesda, MD, April 21, 2018.
     House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Speaker Ryan: On behalf of the National Electrical 
     Contractors Association (NECA), I am writing in strong 
     support of pending energy legislation being considering by 
     the House. NECA urges Members to vote yes on H.R. 3144--To 
     provide for operations of the Federal Columbia River Power 
     System pursuant to a certain operation plan for a specified 
     period of time, and for other purposes, introduced by 
     Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers.
       NECA is the nationally recognized voice of the $160 billion 
     electrical construction industry that brings power, light, 
     and communication technology to buildings and communities 
     across the U.S. NECA's national office and its 119 local 
     chapters are dedicated to enhancing the industry through 
     continuing education, labor relations, safety codes, 
     standards development, and government relations. NECA is 
     committed to advocating for a comprehensive energy policy 
     that addresses all available opportunities for energy 
     exploration and independence.
       The benefits of this legislation are clear: job creation, 
     energy independence, and economic growth. NECA greatly 
     appreciates the hard work that Representative McMorris 
     Rodgers put into writing this important legislation. This 
     will be included in the NECA Legislative Report Card for the 
     115th Congress. We urge all members to vote yes.
       Thank you for your consideration of our views.
           Sincerely,

                                  Marco A. Giamberardino, MPA,

                                               Executive Director,
                                               Government Affairs.

  Mr. SCHRADER. Mr. Speaker, it is time to put science back in the 
decisionmaking process for Oregon and Pacific Northwest salmon recovery 
strategy. Rather than having the courts dictate the best way to balance 
Northwest fish recovery and the region's power needs, we should let the 
experts in U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Bonneville Power, NOAA, and NMFS 
lead the way. H.R. 3144 allows that to occur.
  Rather than having fish policy decided by lawsuit, it simply lets the 
experts do their job. Quite simply, it will allow the Federal Columbia 
River Power System to be managed according to the 2014 Obama 
administration-approved biological opinion until a new BiOp can be 
completed in 2020.
  U.S. Fish and Wildlife, BPA, NOAA, and NMFS have spent years 
developing recovery plans to restore habitat, encourage fish passage, 
and manage this fishery. Their hard work was summarily thrown out by 
the court in favor of continued litigation. In fact, a third--yes, a 
third--of our power bills in the Northwest is dedicated to fish 
recovery.
  We have been diligent. Bonneville ratepayers have stepped up time and 
again. We have made strides, despite battling the effects of climate 
change, ocean acidification, and overfishing by foreign nations. Some 
things we can control, some things we cannot--like sea lion 
depredation, we can.
  Despite the scientific evidence and warnings from Washington and 
Oregon Fish and Wildlife biologists that say sea lions likely account 
for at least 20 percent or more of adult salmon loss in the Columbia 
River system, we are not doing anything about it. Even our Governors 
agree we need to address this, and these are Democratic Governors. 
Let's deal with that instead of one injunction after another demanding 
more spill over the tops of the dams, which, as we have heard, is not 
based in good science.
  This latest order will cost $40 million to $50 million, with the jury 
out on its effectiveness as to juvenile survival and subsequent adult 
return. Let's at least get some scientific data to see if this is a 
good idea. H.R. 3144 would allow that to happen.
  BPA is at a crossroads. Natural gas is abundant, very inexpensive, 
the primary reason a lot of our coal plants are being phased out. But 
its low cost, coupled with more and more demands for fish mitigation, 
now threaten to eliminate our clean, renewable hydropower system that 
accounts for 50 percent of the electricity in the Northwest.
  BPA simply cannot absorb more spill requirements with subsequent loss 
of power generation and revenue without having to curtail the very fish 
mitigation recovery programs the litigants want that have been helping 
to recover our endangered salmon. BPA is becoming quickly uncompetitive 
due to these escalating costs.
  If they go away, what happens? It means more natural gas, more fossil 
fuels. It makes no sense, if your goal is balancing smart, scientific-
based fish recovery with clean renewable energy, to put BPA out of 
business and eliminate local control that the Pacific Northwest has had 
on determining its own future.
  The entire Northwest delegation, Republican and Democrat, worked 
together on this. We would like to continue to do so. We need to stop 
this constant litigation. Let the scientific experts steeped in fish 
recovery do their job.
  I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 3144.
  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter of 
opposition from Governor Kate Brown of Oregon, a letter of opposition 
to the legislation from Governor Inslee of Washington, 140 undersigned 
businesses from the region in opposition, the Nez Perce Tribal 
Executive Committee in opposition to the legislation, and over 22 
environmental and outdoor organizations in opposition to the 
legislation.

                                                 January 22, 2018.
       As Governor of the State of Oregon, I write expressing deep 
     concerns with H.R. 3144. I am concerned this legislation 
     would thwart federal court direction to provide additional 
     spill at dams on the lower Columbia and Snake rivers and the 
     collaborative state, tribal and federal process that has 
     worked effectively to develop spill provisions for 2018. 
     These court-ordered collaborative efforts resulted in 
     consensus recommendations from all sovereigns, representing a 
     positive, and unprecedented, step forward in building 
     stronger consensus for recovery actions. H.R. 3144 would 
     negate this progress and our ability to implement and learn 
     from these consensus recommendations.
       H.R. 3144 would also derail ongoing collaborative efforts 
     to examine a range of potential future dam operations and 
     salmon management options required by the National 
     Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The State of Oregon has 
     engaged in good faith as cooperating agencies with federal 
     agency leads for this Columbia Snake River Operations study. 
     This process is vital to secure a sustainable path forward 
     optimizing power, commerce, agriculture and fish recovery 
     within a changing social and environmental landscape.
       Through NEPA and the Endangered Species Act, Congress 
     established processes for federal decision-making that are 
     grounded in a robust analysis of alternatives in a systematic 
     and science-based manner. H.R. 3144 contravenes these 
     important principles and would disrupt the regional efforts 
     to engage in a full, accurate and transparent analysis of 
     salmon and dam management.
       Washington Governor Inslee has expressed similar opposition 
     to H.R. 3144. Oregonians and Washingtonians share decades of 
     investment in recovering Columbia River salmon, and I join my 
     colleague in asking you to oppose H.R. 3144.
           Sincerely,
                                                       Kate Brown,
                                                         Governor.

[[Page H3547]]

     
                                  ____
                                              State of Washington,


                                       Office of the Governor,

                                    Olympia, WA, December 5, 2017.
     Hon. Rob Bishop,
     Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources,
     House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
     Hon. Doug Lamborn,
     Chairman, Subcommittee on Water, 
         Power and Oceans,
     Committee on Natural Resources,
     House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
     Hon. Raul Grijalva,
     Ranking Member, Committee on Natural Resources,
     House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
     Hon. Jared Huffman,
     Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans,
     Committee on Natural Resources,
     House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairmen Bishop and Lamborn and Ranking Members 
     Grijalva and Huffman: As Governor of the State of Washington, 
     I write to express my deep concerns with H.R. 3144, 
     legislation which would freeze in place a 2014 biological 
     opinion (BiOp), or salmon management plan, for the dams 
     composing the Federal Columbia River Power System. While the 
     State of Washington believes the 2014 BiOp represented a step 
     forward for efforts to protect and recover 13 stocks of 
     threatened or endangered Columbia and Snake river salmon and 
     steelhead, H.R. 3144 would thwart constructive ongoing 
     efforts to improve future salmon and dam management. This 
     would not only hurt salmon but also the recreational and 
     commercial fisheries, tribes, and other species (such as 
     Puget Sound's southern resident killer whales) that benefit 
     from healthy salmon runs.
       I am committed to preserving the benefits of our hydropower 
     dams in a manner that is in balance with protecting and 
     restoring salmon. While our dams and dam operations have been 
     modified to reduce their impact to salmon and steelhead over 
     the last 20 years, there is evidence that salmon may further 
     benefit from additional modifications to dam operations that 
     would help restore salmon populations. The State of 
     Washington is participating in productive regional 
     discussions about the best way to test the potential benefits 
     of additional ``spill,'' in 2018 and potentially beyond. This 
     discussion and learning opportunity would be blocked by H.R. 
     3144's prohibition on any studies or actions that restrict 
     electricity generation at any dams in the Federal Columbia 
     River Power System, even by a small amount.
       Similarly, several Washington State agencies are engaged as 
     cooperating agencies in the Columbia Snake River Operations 
     study process currently being conducted, pursuant to the 
     National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). This process 
     promises to provide valuable information on a range of 
     potential future dam operations and salmon management 
     strategies. As with the discussion regarding increased spill 
     over the dams, H.R. 3144 would halt this learning process in 
     its tracks, preventing a constructive dialog among federal 
     and state agencies, tribes, and the public about how best to 
     manage Columbia and Snake river dams in a region that must 
     continually adapt to ongoing changes to its climate, salmon 
     habitat, and energy system.
       For these reasons, I encourage the Subcommittee on Water, 
     Power and Oceans, the full Natural Resources Committee, and 
     the full House of Representatives to oppose H.R. 3144.
       Thank you for your consideration of my input regarding 
     federal legislation that could have significant impacts on my 
     state.
           Very truly yours,
                                                       Jay Inslee,
     Governor.
                                  ____

                                                   April 20, 2018.
     Members of Congress,
     House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Members of Congress: The 140 undersigned businesses 
     and business associations represent commercial and 
     recreational salmon fishermen and related businesses, guiding 
     and outdoor retail businesses and restaurants and food 
     industries based in the Pacific Northwest. Our businesses and 
     the thousands of jobs that they support regionally are highly 
     dependent on Columbia Basin salmon and steelhead. For this 
     reason we are very concerned about salmon conservation and 
     recovery efforts in the Columbia Basin.
       We are writing to inform you of our strong opposition to HR 
     3144. This bill intentionally circumvents the public 
     processes guiding operations of the Federal Columbia River 
     Power System, application of the Endangered Species Act and 
     recovery of salmon and steelhead resources. HR 3144 would 
     also block recent court orders from the U.S. District Court 
     in Portland (OR) that require additional salmon protection 
     measures at federal dams and reservoirs on the Columbia and 
     Snake rivers.
       HR 3144 requires Congressional authorization before any 
     additional changes or further study of changing dam 
     operations could be taken to reduce impacts on migrating 
     salmon. This removes the best scientific judgment of regional 
     biologists and engineers and replaces it with a political 
     process taking place in Washington D.C.
       If passed into law, HR 3144 would prevent federal managers 
     from operating the dams with additional fish-saving spill. 
     Eliminating the additional spill would have negative impacts 
     on all Columbia Basin salmon, but would put wild Snake River 
     Brun steelhead at immediate risk of extinction; only 362 B-
     run fish have passed the highest dam so far this year. The 
     additional spill recently ordered by the court is strongly 
     supported by regional salmon biologists. It has been shown to 
     be highly effective in increasing juvenile survival to the 
     Pacific Ocean and the number of adults returning. One can 
     look at the excellent returning runs of fall chinook in 2014 
     and 2015 and the resulting economic benefits to see why 
     increased spill is critical in the Columbia Basin. We support 
     the use of spill to increase salmon runs. HR 3144 caps spill 
     at levels already determined to be inadequate and detrimental 
     to the recovery salmon in the Columbia Basin.
       We close by urging you to oppose HR 3144. Columbia Basin 
     salmon are critical to the health of the coastal and inland 
     economies and communities of the Pacific Northwest--including 
     California and Alaska. Our businesses are committed to 
     participating in processes that affect salmon and eager to 
     work with Northwest sovereigns and stakeholders to craft 
     lawful, science-based salmon strategies that meet the needs 
     of imperiled salmon populations and the communities of our 
     great region.
       Thank you for your consideration of our perspective and the 
     effect of your policies on the culture and economy of the 
     Northwest.
           Sincerely,
       Glen Spain, Northwest Regional Director, Pacific Coast 
     Federation of Fishermen's Association, Eugene, OR; Liz 
     Hamilton, Executive Director, Northwest Sportfishing Industry 
     Association, Oregon City, OR; Jeremy Brown, President, 
     Coastal Trollers Association, Auburn, WA; Jeff Friedman, Co-
     President, Pacific Northwest Whale Watching Association, 
     Friday Harbor, WA; Greg Mueller, President/Executive 
     Director, Washington Trollers Association, Westport, WA; Mary 
     Wright, President, Salmon River Outfitters Association, 
     Salmon, ID; Scott Gudes, Vice President of Government 
     Affairs, American Sportfishing Association, Washington, D.C.; 
     Grant Putnam, President, Northwest Guides and Anglers 
     Association, Tillamook, OR; Mike Hubbell, President, Santa 
     Cruz Commercial Fishermen's Association, Santa Cruz, CA; 
     Linda Behnken, Alaska Longline Fishermen's Association, 
     Sitka, AK; Dustin Aherin, President, Idaho River Adventures, 
     Inc., Lewiston and Salmon City, ID; Peter Grubb, Founder, 
     ROW, Inc & Adventure Unbound, Inc., Spokane, WA; Mikki 
     Waddell, Operations Manager, Main Market Co-op, Spokane, WA; 
     Max Newland, Education and Event Coordinator, Moscow Food Co-
     op, Moscow, ID; Jeff Jerrett, Owner, Jarrett's Guide Service, 
     Orofino, ID.
       Tyler Nash, Owner, White Pine Gear Exchange & Guide 
     Service, Moscow, ID; Kurt Hochberg, Owner, F/V Rogue, 
     Crescent City, CA; Kurt Hochberg, Owner, Crescent Seafood 
     Market and Deli, Crescent City, CA; David Blaine, Owner, 
     Central Food, Spokane, WA; Jeremy and Kate Hansen, Owners, 
     Island Pacific Kitchen, Sante, Common Crumb, Biscuit Wizard, 
     Spokane, WA; Ron Richards, Owner, F/V Ocean Dancer, Port 
     Angeles, WA; Bryan Huskey, Owner/Founder, Keep Em Wet 
     Fishing, Boise, ID; Zachary Collier, Owner/Outfitter, 
     Northwest Rafting Co., Hood River, OR; Mary Wright, Co-owner, 
     Silver Cloud Expeditions, Salmon, ID; Steve Bly, Owner, Steve 
     Bly Photography, Boise, ID; Pam Bly, Idaho Master Naturalist, 
     Boise, ID; Jeri Sahlin, Owner, Choice Therapies, Coeur 
     d'Alene, ID; Craig Wolfrom, Owner, Craig Wolfrom Photography, 
     Bellevue, ID; Bonnie Schonefeld, Owner, Lochsa Connection, 
     Kooskia, ID; Evelyn Kaide, Owner, The Guide Shop & Clearwater 
     Drifters, Orofino, ID.
       David Denning, Owner, The River Company, Stanley, ID; Dick 
     Pool, Owner, Pro-Troll Fishing Products, Concord, CA; George 
     Cook, President, Angler's Rendezvous, Lacey, WA; Matt 
     Leidecker, Owner, Idaho River Publications, Ketchum, ID; 
     Marla Lacer, Manager, AVEDA Institute, Boise Boise, ID; Link 
     Jackson, Owner Streamtech Boats, Boise, ID; Debbi Woods, 
     Human Resources, Manager Boise Co-op, Boise, ID; Doug Rees, 
     President, The Guide's Forecast, LLP, Portland, OR; Bob Rees, 
     Owner, Bob Rees' Fishing Guide Service, Portland, OR; Paul 
     Fish, President, Mountain Gear, Inc, Spokane Valley, WA; 
     Steve Schmrsik, Chef, Pink Door, Seattle, WA; Jim White, 
     Executive Chef/Food & Beverage Director, Islandwood, 
     Bainbridge Island, WA; Frank Ralph, Owner, Ocean Seafood, 
     LLC, Fox Island, WA; Joel Kawahara, Owner/Fisherman, F/V 
     Karolee, Quilcene, WA; John Delp, Chef/Co-Owner, Mossback 
     Restaurant, Kingston, WA.
       Nichole Curry, Owner/Fisherman, F/V Karen L, Bellingham, 
     WA; Diana Clausen, Owner/Fishermen, Clausen Fisheries, Inc, 
     Port Townsend, WA; Wayne Johnson, Executive Corporate Chef, 
     FareStart, Seattle, WA; Joel Brady-Power, Owner/Fisherman, F/
     V Nerka, Bellingham, WA; Duke Moscrip, CEO, Duke's Seafood & 
     Chowder, Seattle, WA; Buzz Hofford, District Manager, Bon 
     Appetit Management Company, Seattle, WA; Renee Erickson, 
     Chef, Sea Creatures Restaurants, Seattle, WA; Amy Grondin, 
     Owner/Fisherman, Duna Fisheries, LLC, Port Townsend, WA; 
     Rebecca Argo, Owner/Operator, McClure Bay, LLC, Port 
     Townsend, WA; Jeremy Brown, Owner/Fisherman, F/V Barcole, 
     Bellingham, WA; Marja Murray, Chef, Kiddie Academy, Seattle, 
     WA; Michael Clausen, Owner/Fishermen, F/V Carol M, Port 
     Townsend, WA; Paige Bloskey, Head Chef, Farestart, Seattle, 
     WA; Dustin Ronspies, Owner/Chef, Art Of The Table, Seattle, 
     WA; Kirsten Graham, Founder, KGPR, Seattle, WA.
       Diane LaVonne, Chef/Owner, Diane's Market Kitchen, Seattle, 
     WA; Greg Friedrichs,

[[Page H3548]]

     Owner/Fisherman, F/V Arminta, Port Townsend, WA; Ozzie 
     Anderson, Owner/Operator, McClure Bay, LLC, Port Townsend, 
     WA; Karen Jurgensen, Chef Instructor, Seattle Culinary 
     Academy/Quillisascut Farm School, Seattle, WA; Blaise Holly, 
     President, Stormbird, LTD. (F/V Alaska), Port Townsend, WA; 
     Tele Aadsen, Owner/Fisherman, Nerka Sea Frozen Salmon, 
     Bellingham, WA; Brad Warren, Executive Director, National 
     Fisheries Conservation Center, Seattle, WA; Andrew Stout, Co-
     Founder, Full Circle, Seattle, WA; Darren Gertler, 
     Environmental Educator, City of Watsonville, Soquel, CA; 
     Jessica Schuenemann, Co-Owner/President, Alder Wood Bistro, 
     Sequim, WA; Jonathan Moore, Owner/Fisherman, F/V Ocean Belle, 
     Port Townsend, WA; Austin Becker, Co-Chair, Slow Food 
     Seattle, Seattle, WA; Riley Starks, Partner/Fisherman, Lummi 
     Island Wild Co-op, Bellingham, WA; Pam Lanua Petranek, 
     Commercial Fisherman, Cape Cleare, Port Townsend, WA; Rick 
     Oltman, Owner/Fisherman, Cape Cleare Fishery, Port Townsend, 
     WA; Gabriel Schuenemann, Chef/Co-Owner, Alder Wood Bistro, 
     Sequim, WA; Charlie Hawkes, Owner/Fisherman, F/V Shake, Port 
     Townsend, WA; Nelly Hand, Owner/Fisherman, Drifters Fish, 
     Cordova, AK; Don Snow, President/CEO, Ocean Run Seafoods, 
     Inc., Newport, OR; Michael McCorkle, Commercial Fisherman, 
     SCTA, Santa Barbara, CA; Carolyn Faulk, CFO, F/V Aqua Leo, 
     Santa Cruz, CA; Joe Barrett, Owner/Fisherman, F/V 
     Westerner, Sequim, WA; Emily White, Co-Chair, Slow Food 
     Seattle, Seattle, WA; Greg Atkinson, Chef Proprietor, 
     Restaurant Marche, Bainbridge Island, WA; Rob Seitz, 
     Owner/Operator, F/V South Bay/South Bay Wild, Inc, 
     Astoria, OR; Joshua Abel, Owner, Catch Fly Fishing, 
     Imaginary Trout, Spokane WA; Dan Grogan, Owner, 
     Fisherman's Marine & Outdoor, Portland, OR; Ron Hiller, 
     President, Active Outdoors, Tigard, OR; Randy Woolsey, VP, 
     Tom Posey Co., Tigard, OR; Dan Parnel, President, Leisure 
     Sales, Auburn, WA.
       Scott Weedman, Owner, 3 Rivers Marine, Woodinville, WA; 
     Jennie Logsdon Martin, Founder, Ifish, Tillamook, OR; Kevin 
     Newell, Total Fisherman Guide Service, Woodland, WA; Lacey 
     DeWeert, Total Fisherman Guide Service, Woodland, WA; Brad 
     Staples, Owner, Western Fishing Adventures Ltd., West Linn, 
     OR; Jarod Higginbotham, Yakima Bait Company, Granger, WA; 
     Steffen Gambill, Principle, Active Outdoors, Tigard, OR; Jim 
     Stewart, Owner, Ironwood Pacific Outdoors, Inc., Tigard, OR; 
     Craig Mostul, Sales, Stevens Marine, Milwaukie, OR; Herman 
     Fleishman, Owner, Northwest Fishing Adventures LLC, Tigard, 
     OR; Harry Bresnahan, Owner, Harry Bresnahan's Guide Service, 
     Woodland, WA; Rich & Susan Basch, Owners, Ollie Damon's, 
     Portland, OR; Jim Elliott, Retired, L.H French Co., Woodland, 
     WA; Michael O'Leary, Owner, Public Purposes LLC, Portland, 
     OR; Mike Borger, President, Catcher Co./Smelly Jelly, 
     Hillsboro, OR.
       Steve Grutbo, Sales & Marketing Manager, Smokehouse 
     Products, LLC., Hood River, OR; Trey Carskadon, Director of 
     Marketing, O'Loughlin Trade Shows, Beaverton, OR; Earl Huff, 
     Retired, Eagle Cap Fishing Guides, Joseph, OR; John Kirby, 
     Ancient Mariner Guide Service, Bay City, OR; Michael Glass, 
     Owner, Oregon, Rod, Reel & Tackle, Eugene, OR; Alex Brauer, 
     Brand Director, Fish Marketing, Portland, OR; Greg Hublou, 
     Owner, Bayside Guided Adventures, Tillamook, OR; William 
     Jordan Keesler, Admin, Poulsen Cascade Tackle, Clackamas, 
     OR; Andy Walgamott, Northwest Sportsman Magazine, Tukwila, 
     WA; Tom Posey, Past President NSIA, Retired, Fishing 
     Tackle Manufacturers' Rep for NW and Alaska, Portland, OR; 
     Chris Vertopoulos, Owner, Northwest Angling Experience, 
     Portland, OR; Levi Strayer, General Manager, Smokehouse 
     Products, LLC, Hood River, OR; Zack Schoonover, Sales 
     Manager, Maxima USA, Hillsboro, OR; Dany Myers, Owner, 
     Northwest Solutions, Sammamish, WA; Skylen Freet, Owner, 
     Skylen Freet Guided Sportfishing LLC, Sandy, OR.
       Jack Glass, Owner, Hook Up Guide Service, Sandy, OR; Gerald 
     Wooley, President and COO, Renaissance Marine Group, Inc., 
     Clarkston, WA; Dave Strahan, Territory Sales Manager, Big 
     Rock Sports, Clackamas, OR; Don M. New, Owner, New Landing 
     Design, LLC, West Linn, OR; Matthew Schlecht, Owner, Bob's 
     Sporting Goods, Longview, WA; Bill Monroe Jr., Owner, Bill 
     Monroe Outdoors, LLC, Corbett, OR; Madelynn Sheehan, Author, 
     Fishing in Oregon, Flying Pencil Publications, Scappoose, OR; 
     John Daly, Owner, Fight Club Guided Fishing, Saint Helens, 
     OR; Gabe Miller, Buyer, Far West Sports, Fife, WA; Dan 
     Pickthorn, President, D & G Bait, Inc., Clackamas, OR; Cody 
     Clark, Fishing Buyer, Bob's Sporting Goods, Longview, WA; Rob 
     Bignall, Fishing Guide, Its All Good Guide Service, Sherwood, 
     OR; Cody Herman, Owner, Day One Outdoors, LLC, Hillsboro, OR; 
     Brent Hutchings, CEO, North River Boats, Roseburg, OR; Kelsey 
     Marshall, President, Grounds for Change, Poulsbo, WA; 
     Christian Zajac, Owner, F/V Serena May, Santa Cruz, WA.
                                  ____

                                                  Nez Perce Tribal


                                          Executive Committee,

                                     Lapwai, ID, October 11, 2017.
     Nez Perce Tribe's Statement in Opposition to H.R. 3144.

(``A Bill to Provide for operations of the Federal Columbia River Power 
 System pursuant to a certain operation plan for a specified period of 
                    time, and for other purposes.'')

       The Nez Perce Tribe is committed to restoring salmon and 
     steelhead in the mainstem Columbia and lower Snake rivers to 
     healthy, harvestable populations for all citizens of the 
     Northwest and to fairly sharing the conservation burden, 
     consistent with the United States' 1855 Treaty with the Nez 
     Perce.
       The Nez Perce Tribe opposes H.R. 3144 because it attempts 
     to short-circuit the federal judiciary and federal appellate 
     process with respect to providing additional spill to protect 
     fish. The Tribe also opposes H.R. 3144 because it attempts to 
     short-circuit the full consideration of all alternatives to 
     redress the impacts of the Federal Columbia River Power 
     System (FCRPS) dams on salmon and steelhead--including 
     breaching the four lower Snake River dams.
       Congress, in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 
     and in the Endangered Species Act (ESA), established federal 
     decision-making that is grounded in a full and complete 
     analysis of all alternatives in an orderly, methodical and 
     science-based process. Both NEPA and the ESA ensure that all 
     the citizens of this Nation will have a full, accurate, and 
     transparent analysis of the importance of salmon and 
     steelhead to the Pacific Northwest and the Nation, the impact 
     the FCRPS dams have on these iconic species, and the legacy 
     we want to leave our future generations. And, both NEPA and 
     the ESA contain mechanisms so that tradeoffs can be 
     considered, investments in local communities impacted by 
     decisions can be planned, and truly informed decisions can be 
     made. H.R. 3144 runs counter to these foundational principles 
     of sound, consistent and sustainable governance.
                                  ____

                                                  August 23, 2017.
       Dear Policymaker: The undersigned conservation, salmon, 
     orca, and clean energy advocacy organizations and business 
     associations extend our deep gratitude for your decision not 
     to co-sponsor H.R. 3144--recently introduced by several 
     Northwest representatives. In contrast to sponsor claims, 
     this bill, if passed, would thwart efforts to deliver 
     critical near-term protections for endangered wild salmon, 
     derail the court-ordered NEPA environmental review and 
     increase uncertainty for Northwest citizens and businesses. 
     We ask you to actively oppose this harmful legislation to 
     ensure that it does not become law.
       Wild salmon and steelhead are a Northwest birthright. They 
     are essential to the culture and economy of our region's 
     Native American Tribes and support tens of thousands of non-
     tribal fishing jobs in urban and rural communities on the 
     West Coast and in Idaho. Salmon also play an irreplaceable 
     ecological role as an indicator species reflecting the health 
     of our rivers and watersheds. Their presence benefits more 
     than 130 other species, including critically-endangered, 
     prey-deficient Southern Resident Orcas.
       H.R. 3144 is based on misinformation, fails to recognize 
     the important role wild salmon and steelhead play for 
     Northwest communities and ecosystems, and would severely 
     undermine ongoing and much-needed protection efforts. If 
     passed into law, H.R. 3144 would reverse the May 2016 U.S. 
     District court decision that found the federal agencies' most 
     recent plan for managing federal dams on the Columbia and 
     Snake Rivers violated the Endangered Species Act and the 
     National Environmental Policy Act and would not protect wild 
     salmon and steelhead from extinction. Three different federal 
     judges have now rejected five consecutive Columbia Basin 
     salmon plans over the past two decades. This failure has cost 
     regional energy consumers and federal taxpayers more than $10 
     billion without recovering a single endangered salmon 
     population.
       H.R. 3144 would lock in the inadequate and illegal 2014 
     Columbia Basin Biological Opinion, fatally stifle the court 
     order to complete a full, fair NEPA environmental review, and 
     prevent an increase in spring ``spill'' (water releases over 
     the tops of dams to improve survival of out-migrating 
     juvenile salmon) beginning in 2018. Ordered by the court 
     earlier this year and being collaboratively planned by the 
     parties to the litigation this summer, spill is widely 
     recognized by experts as our most effective immediate tool to 
     help endangered salmon while our region develops a new, 
     legally valid, scientifically-credible plan.
       Salmon and fishing advocates share the frustration of many 
     stakeholders with this history of costly and ineffective 
     plans to revive culturally and economically important salmon 
     populations in the Columbia-Snake Basin. We are ready to work 
     with others in the region to develop a plan that protects and 
     recovers endangered salmon and steelhead while also meeting 
     the needs of affected interests. H.R. 3144, however, will not 
     move our region in that direction; rather it will move us 
     away from a real opportunity to craft a durable, responsible 
     solution.
       Thank you again for your decision not to sponsor H.R. 3144. 
     We hope that you will actively oppose it and do everything 
     you can to prevent this bill from becoming law.
           Sincerely,
       Tom France, Pacific Regional Executive Director, National 
     Wildlife Federation. Missoula, Montana; Giulia Good Stefani, 
     Staff Attorney for the Marine Mammal Protection Project, 
     National Resources Defense Council, Mosier, Oregon; Robb 
     Krehbiel, Washington State Representative, Defenders of 
     Wildlife, Seattle, Washington; Wendy Gerlitz, Policy 
     Director, NW Energy Coalition, Portland, Oregon; Ben 
     Enticknap, Pacific Campaign

[[Page H3549]]

     Manager & Senior Scientist, Oceana, Portland, Oregon; Bill 
     Arthur, Columbia-Snake River Salmon Caucus Chair, Sierra 
     Club, Seattle, Washington; Julian Matthews, Enrolled Nez 
     Perce Tribal member and Treasurer, Nimipuu Protecting the 
     Environment, Pullman, Washington; Liz Hamilton, Executive 
     Director, Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association, 
     Oregon City, Oregon; Jeremy Brown, President Coastal 
     Trollers Association, Bellingham, Washington; Thomas 
     O'Keefe, Ph.D, Pacific Northwest Stewardship Director, 
     American Whitewater, Seattle, Washington; Wendy McDermott, 
     Rivers of Puget Sound-Columbia Basin Director, American 
     Rivers, Bellingham, Washington; Noah Oppenheim, Executive 
     Director, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's 
     Associations, San Francisco, California.
       Howard Garrett and Susan Berta, Directors, Orca Network, 
     Whidbey Island, Washington State; Aaron Tam, Pacific 
     Northwest Organizer, Endangered Species Coalition, 
     Washington, D.C; Joseph Bogaard, executive director, Save Our 
     wild Salmon Coalition, Seattle, Washington; Kevin Lewis, 
     Executive Director, Idaho Rivers United, Boise, Idaho; Justin 
     Hayes, Program Director, Idaho Conservation League, Boise, 
     Idaho; Rich Simms, President, Wild Steelhead Coalition, 
     Seattle, Washington; Greg Haller, Conservation Director, 
     Pacific Rivers, Portland, Oregon; Mike Petersen, Executive 
     Director, The Lands Council, Spokane, Washington; Tom 
     VanderPlaat, President, Association of Northwest 
     Steelheaders, Milwaukie, Oregon, John DeVoe, Executive 
     Director, WaterWatch of Oregon, Portland Oregon; Ed Chaney, 
     Director, Northwest Resource Information Center, Eagle, 
     Idaho; Brian Brooks, Executive Director, Idaho Wildlife 
     Federation, Boise, Idaho.
       Colleen Weiler, Rekos Fellow for Orca Conservation, Whale 
     and Dolphin Conservation, Corvallis, Oregon; Trish Rolfe, 
     Executive Director, Center for Environmental Law & Policy, 
     Seattle, Washington; Brett VandenHeuvel, Executive Director, 
     Columbia Riverkeeper, Hood River, Oregon; Grant Putnam, 
     President, Northwest Guides and Anglers Association, 
     Clackamas, Oregon; Andrea Matzke, Executive Director, Wild 
     Washington Rivers, Index, Washington; Miyoko Sakashita, 
     Oceans Director, Senior Counsel, Center for Biological 
     Diversity, Oakland, California; Bert Bowler, Director, Snake 
     River Salmon Solutions, Boise, Idaho; Gary MacFarlane, 
     Ecosystem Defense Director, Friends of the Clearwater, 
     Moscow, Idaho; Bob Sallinger, Conservation Director, Audubon 
     Society of Portland, Portland, Oregon; Michael Wells, 
     President, Clearwater-Snake Rivers Trout Unlimited, Moscow, 
     Idaho; Darilyn Parry Brown, Greater Hells Canyon Council, La 
     Grande, Oregon; Chris Wilke, Executive Director, Puget 
     Soundkeeper Alliiance, Seattle, WA; Whitney Neugebauer, 
     Director, Whale Scout, Bothell, Washington.

  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from 
Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer).
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman's courtesy in 
permitting me to speak on this and the elements that he just put into 
the Record. These are tough issues.
  The Bonneville Dam, one of the elements here, is in my district. I 
have been involved with these issues, literally, for decades. I have 
watched the give-and-take.
  Part of what we are facing today is the legacy of our moving in to 
create the Bonneville system without really knowing what we were doing 
when we started. There was a rich fisheries existence. Rumor had it 
that you could actually--people claimed you could walk across the backs 
of the salmon when they were spawning.
  The dams implemented, good for producing energy, not good for the 
fishery system, both in terms of the river and the marine ecosystem 
that depends on it.
  And it is not just the commitment to the Endangered Species Act and 
the environment. We are dealing here with commitments to Native 
Americans who have been ill-served with their treaty rights. That is 
one of the reasons why we have litigated this for years, because they 
had valid treaty rights as a sovereign people, and the United States 
violated them; and only recently, under the pressure of litigation, 
were we responsive to their needs and some changes were made.
  Now, it is not just the current Federal judge. We have had objections 
through the Judiciary looking at some of the compromises that people 
have made. I understand the political pressures. I watch it in terms of 
the economy, in terms of transportation, in terms of Native Americans, 
in terms of fish and wildlife, in terms of agricultural interests.
  These are difficult and troublesome efforts, and there is no good 
response because we have made more commitments than the mighty Columbia 
River can deliver on. We treat it like a machine, and we have 
difficulty reconciling it.
  The judge in the case has found that the plan was wanting and has put 
in place a system for the new BiOp. This legislation is not going to 
stop litigation. If it passes, I will guarantee you, we will be back in 
court, and I think there is a very strong likelihood that, rather than 
moving it forward, it will delay it.
  Look at the record in terms of the opponents to approaches like this 
on how they have fared in court. It is not a good record.
  Now, I would suggest strongly that we are better served by allowing 
this process to go forward. Respect NEPA; respect the Endangered 
Species Act; respect the process that is put in place; and look at all 
the options.
  Now, I am not saying tomorrow we are going to tear down Snake River 
dams, but there are lots of options short of dam removal. When we start 
taking things off the table, we limit our ability to meet our 
responsibilities under the law and under our treaty obligations and, 
candidly, in what is going to be in the best interest of solving a very 
complex issue.
  I would hope that we would reject this legislation not only because I 
think it is ill-advised--I think it undercuts the environment, our 
obligations to the Native Americans, that it will delay it rather than 
accelerate it--but I think it provides a precedent that we don't want 
to have. I don't think we want to have Congress intervening in the 
midst of these processes.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. GRIJALVA. I yield the gentleman from Oregon an additional 1 
minute.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, when I look at what this Congress--
particularly, under Republican rule--has done trying to intervene to 
supersede science, to have political decisions on things that really 
deserve balance with the environment, with treaty rights, dealing with 
the long-term perspective, it is not a very encouraging record.
  I strongly urge that we side with environmentalist groups, with our 
two Governors, with a number of us in the delegation to allow this 
process to work and not undercut it and put us back in court. If so, I 
will guarantee that we will be back here next year and the year after 
that with things worse rather than better.

                              {time}  1530

  Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, as one of the eight Tribes that 
endorse this bill said: The BiOp exceeds requirements established by 
the courts and by the ESA, and yet plaintiffs want more. The court 
should uphold the 2008 BiOp.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. 
Newhouse), speaking on behalf of the eight Tribes that endorse this in 
his area.
  Mr. NEWHOUSE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman of the Natural 
Resources Committee for yielding time to me.
  Mr. Speaker, earlier this afternoon, I had the opportunity during 
debate on the rule to rise and speak about this bill, as well as the 
great coalition of constituents and stakeholders who have collaborated 
to support H.R. 3144.
  Some of the strongest voices are that of our local public utility 
districts and rural electric cooperatives across the Pacific Northwest, 
who have been immensely helpful in their advocacy and engagement of 
this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a stack of letters and 
resolutions of support from these groups in Oregon, Idaho, and also my 
home State of Washington. I would like to express my sincere gratitude 
for their support as well.

                                  Blachly-Lane Electric Co-op,

                                        Eugene, OR, March 1, 2018.
     Re Support H.R. 3144 to Protect the Northwest's Economy, 
         Environment, and ESA-Listed Salmon.

       Dear Members of the Northwest Congressional Delegation: 
     Blachly-Lane Electric Cooperative joins Northwest 
     RiverPartners and our fellow northwest electric cooperatives 
     in thanking you for your bipartisan opposition to misguided 
     components of the President's FY19 budget proposal related to 
     the Bonneville Power Administration's transmission assets and 
     rates. We value that the delegation recognizes BPA's 
     transmission and power generation assets as a pillar of the 
     Northwest economy and critical to our region's carbon-free 
     electric energy production, and your united concern for 
     constituents in the region.

[[Page H3550]]

       Your bipartisan commitment to protecting BPA's statutory 
     mission and the longevity of the Federal Columbia River Power 
     System allows us to ask you for support of H.R. 3144. The 
     bill will protect the region's access to renewable, carbon 
     free, and reliable federal hydropower while mitigating 
     hydropower impacts and protecting Endangered Species Act 
     listed salmon.
       H.R. 3144 would allow the NEPA process to continue as the 
     Court has ordered, with a comprehensive and transparent 
     review of federal hydrosystem operations, while postponing 
     costly and potentially harmful experimental spill and hydro 
     operations in the interim.
       BPA faces uncertainty as escalating fish and wildlife costs 
     and related litigation negatively impact its power rates. 
     Keeping BPA sound and competitive serves to shield the agency 
     from political attacks coming from outside the region. H.R. 
     3144 provides vital near-term certainty by temporarily 
     retaining the federal hydrosystem operations plan supported 
     by both the Bush and Obama Administrations that was 
     extensively vetted by independent scientists, only until an 
     ongoing NEPA review process concludes in 2021.
       BPA estimates the Court-ordered spill experiment could cost 
     its power customers an estimated $40 million this year. NOAA 
     Fisheries' Science Center modeling shows this additional 
     spill would provide little or no added benefits to protected 
     juvenile salmon or returning adults. The costs of this 
     experiment to our electric cooperative members are far too 
     great, and the outcome to fish far too negative.
       If that isn't enough, the spill operations will add 840,000 
     metric tons of carbon emissions by removing 815 megawatts of 
     carbon-free federal hydrosystem generation and replacing it 
     with fossil fuels. This large loss of hydroelectric 
     generation simply can't be replaced by increasing efficiency, 
     intermittent wind or solar resources. The Court-ordered spill 
     undermines Oregon and Washington's progress toward our 
     carbon-reduction goals.
       Your support of H.R. 3144 will keep scientifically 
     recognized ESA-listed salmon protection measures in place 
     while allowing a rational, deliberative NEPA process to 
     generate credible data for future potential dam operations 
     and salmon-management strategies. H.R. 3144, contrary to 
     critics' statements, will simply allow for a much-needed 
     ``time out'' from over 20 years of litigation and allow the 
     federal agencies to focus their limited resources on 
     conducting the best NEPA process possible to comply with the 
     court's order.
       Also know that the region is not in agreement on the Court-
     ordered 2018 spill operations. The federal Action Agencies 
     (BPA, Army Corps, and Bureau of Reclamation), RiverPartners, 
     Idaho, Montana, Confederated Tribes of the Colville, the 
     Kootenai Tribe of Idaho, and the Salish-Kootenai tribe, have 
     appealed the ruling to the Ninth Circuit. The Court-ordered 
     spill would abandon federal agencies' best science and 
     expertise in favor of dictating from the bench an operational 
     ``experiment'' for the complex and crucial federal 
     hydrosystem. That is not a proper role for any Court.
       We urge members of the delegation to support this 
     commonsense bill with a continued bipartisin spirit. Your 
     leadership is imperative to keep BPA's hydropower generation 
     assets affordable and to improve the agency's competitiveness 
     as quickly as possible. Without a competitive product to 
     transmit over the wires, BPA will be challenged to meet its 
     important statutory obligations of providing power and 
     protecting fish and wildlife.
       Passage of H.R. 3144 is critical to help avoid BPA's 
     current perilous trajectory and further harm to the 
     fisheries. Modest, practical action now will help BPA avoid 
     the economic cliff it faces. To wait and later bail out the 
     agency could impose enormous costs on regional ratepayers and 
     taxpayers.
       Thank you for your time and thoughtful consideration of one 
     of the most crucial issues facing the Northwest in years.
           Sincerely,
                                                       Joe Jarvis,
     General Manager.
                                  ____



                                        Northern Lights, Inc.,

                                         Sagle, ID, March 9, 2018.
       Dear Senator Risch: Northern Lights, Inc. strongly supports 
     H.R. 3144, bipartisan legislation that protects the 
     Northwest's access to renewable, clean and reliable federal 
     hydropower while mitigating hydropower impacts and protecting 
     ESA listed salmon. We urge you to advance H.R. 3144 as part 
     of the Fiscal Year 2018 appropriations bill or any other 
     legislation considered this Congress.
       BPA is in a precarious financial situation with a rate 
     trajectory that is unsustainable. If this unsettling trend 
     continues, BPA will not be competitive with alternative power 
     supply choices in the region when it seeks customer contract 
     renewal in 2028. While we greatly value the carbon free, 
     flexible hydropower resources that BPA provides, as an 
     electric cooperative, we have a responsibility to deliver 
     power to our members at an affordable rate whether that comes 
     from BPA or elsewhere.
       Although BPA's power rates are influenced by a variety of 
     cost-drivers, one of the largest variables is fish and 
     wildlife program costs. Along these lines, we are 
     particularly concerned about ESA-driven litigation over 
     federal hydro system operations that has plagued our region 
     for almost 20 years. Most recently, as a result of legal 
     proceedings in the U.S. District Court for the District of 
     Oregon, a federal judge has ordered a spill experiment that 
     could cost BPA power customers an estimated $40 million just 
     this year. Yet federal modeling shows that this additional 
     spill would provide little or no added benefit to protected 
     juvenile salmon or returning adults. This is particularly 
     troubling to a consumer-owned power community that remains 
     committed to funding the largest mitigation for threatened 
     species in the nation.
       As stewards of the Columbia River, it is our collective 
     responsibility to get off the sidelines and identify 
     practical solutions to tough problems. H.R. 3144 is just 
     that, it would provide much needed relief from the endless 
     litigation by temporarily keeping in place a 2014 biological 
     opinion built on the best available science from two 
     consecutive Administrations (Bush and Obama). We are pleased 
     that this biological opinion has resulted in improved salmon 
     survival at dams due to changes in operations and the 
     installation of new fish passage technologies. Retaining the 
     2014 biological opinion also allows the federal agencies to 
     focus on the court-ordered NEPA environmental review process 
     without being distracted by litigation.
       Let's take a time out from the courtroom and rally around a 
     practical solution. On behalf of Northern Lights, Inc. we 
     urge you to support H.R. 3144.
           Sincerely,

                                            Annie Terracciano,

                                                  General Manager,
     Northern Lights, Inc.
                                  ____

                                                      Salmon River


                                   Electric Cooperative, Inc.,

                                     Challis, ID, August 25, 2015.
       Dear Members of the Northwest Congressional Delegation: 
     This letter is submitted by Salmon River Electric 
     Cooperative, Inc. We are a small rural electric cooperative 
     located in central Idaho. We distribute electricity to 2700 
     electric accounts over eight hundred miles of distribution 
     lines. Our economy is made up of ranching and agriculture, 
     mining, recreation and tourism, and public land management. 
     Ninety-eight percent of the lands around us are public lands. 
     This leaves very little tax base to operate our local 
     economies. Low cost, clean, environmentally safe and carbon 
     free, and reliable electricity has been and will remain 
     critical to the lives of our member owners. We were pleased 
     to see the congressional delegation recently join together in 
     a bipartisan manner to oppose ill-advised components of the 
     President's FY19 budget proposal related to the Bonneville 
     Power Administration's (``BPA'') transmission assets and 
     rates. At a time defined by partisan rancor, it is refreshing 
     that our elected officials are able to unite to protect 
     constituents in the region and recognize that BPA's 
     transmission and power generation assets are the backbone of 
     the Northwest economy and the mainstay of our region's 
     carbon-free electric energy production.
       This ongoing bipartisan commitment to protecting BPA's 
     statutory mission and the longevity of the Federal Columbia 
     River Power System (``FCRPS'') is why we are asking you to 
     support legislation introduced in the House (H.R. 3144) that 
     would protect the region's access to renewable, carbon free, 
     and reliable federal hydropower while mitigating hydropower 
     impacts and protecting Endangered Species Act (``ESA'') 
     listed salmon. This commonsense legislation temporarily keeps 
     in place a federal hydrosystem operations plan supported by 
     both the Bush and Obama Administrations. and was extensively 
     vetted by independent scientists, only until an ongoing NEPA 
     review process is concluded in 2021. H.R. 3144 would allow 
     the NEPA process to continue as the Court has ordered, with a 
     comprehensive and transparent review of federal hydrosystem 
     operations, while postponing costly and potentially harmful 
     experimental spill and hydro operations in the interim.
           Sincerely,
     Ken Dizes.
                                  ____



                                                   Benton PUD,

                                                   March 13, 2018.
     Re Support H.R. 3144.

       Dear Members of the Washington State Congressional 
     Delegation: On behalf of Benton PUD customers, we urge you to 
     support H.R. 3144 that protects the hydro system and the 
     benefits it brings to the region through clean, renewable and 
     affordable power.
       H.R. 3144 provides relief in the endless litigation of 
     federal hydro system operations by directing the federal 
     agencies to implement the current Biological Opinion that has 
     been vetted and supported by previous presidential 
     administration's top scientists and resulted in wild salmon 
     numbers trending significantly upward due to changes in 
     operations and the installation of new passage technologies.
       Over the years of the operation of the Federal Columbia 
     River Power System (FCRPS), Northwest electric ratepayers 
     have invested over $16 billion on infrastructure and fish 
     enhancement efforts. We are appreciative of the countless 
     efforts that have already been made within the FCRPS 
     operations to improve juvenile fish passage survival.
       H.R. 3144 allows the court ordered NEPA process to continue 
     with a comprehensive and transparent review of federal 
     hydrosystem operations, while postponing costly and 
     potentially harmful experimental spill operations in the 
     interim.

[[Page H3551]]

       As Commissioners of public utilities located in the heart 
     of the Northwest, we strongly believe that we can achieve our 
     goal to balance the needs of healthy salmon and steelhead 
     populations with the imperative to preserve a valuable 
     hydropower system that is integral to our region's quality of 
     life. To do so, we must provide stability and certainty to 
     management of the FCRPS and fish recovery efforts.
       The legislation is needed to protect the Snake River dams 
     and the renewable, carbon-free, affordable and reliable 
     hydropower provided to our customers and the customers across 
     the region.
           Sincerely,
     Commissioner Barry Bush.
     Commissioner Lori Sanders.
     Commissioner Jeff Hall.
                                  ____


                          Resolution No. 2413

                            (July 25, 2017)


    SUPPORTING H.R. 3144 FEDERAL LEGISLATION ADDRESSING THE FEDERAL 
             COLUMBIA RIVER POWER SYSTEM BIOLOGICAL OPINION

       Whereas, Customers of Public Utility District No. 1 of 
     Benton County, Washington, hereinafter referred to as ``the 
     District'', receive 77 percent of their electricity from the 
     Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS); and
       Whereas, Hydropower provides 70 percent of Washington 
     State's renewable, affordable and reliable electricity and 60 
     percent of the Pacific Northwest's electricity with the 
     majority of the power produced by the FCRPS; and
       Whereas, Hydroelectric dams also provide many benefits to 
     the region, including flood control, navigation, irrigation, 
     and recreation; and
       Whereas, Federal legislation requires the federal agencies 
     responsible for the management of the FCRPS (Bonneville Power 
     Administration (BPA), Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of 
     Reclamation) to operate the hydro system in compliance with 
     the Biological Opinion (BiOp) approved by NOAA Fisheries in 
     2008/2010 and supplemented in 2014; and
       Whereas, The FCRPS BiOp has successfully improved fish runs 
     including 97 percent of young salmon successfully making it 
     past the dams proving that both dams and fish can coexist; 
     and
       Whereas, BPA has spent $15.28 billion in total spending on 
     infrastructure and fish mitigation projects since 1978; and
       Whereas, Despite the success of the current FCRPS BiOp, in 
     March 2017, the United States District Court for the District 
     of Oregon (Court) directed the federal agencies to undertake 
     a comprehensive review of hydro operations under the National 
     Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and strongly urged the 
     federal agencies to include analysis of the removal, bypass 
     or breaching one or more of the four lower Snake River dams; 
     and
       Whereas, H.R. 3144, ``To provide for operations of the 
     Federal Columbia River Power System pursuant to a certain 
     operation plan for a specified period of time'', was 
     introduced in the United States House of Representatives to 
     ensure the FCRPS BiOp remains in effect until 2022;
       Whereas, The federal legislation would continue federal 
     hydro operations through September 30, 2022, or until the 
     court-ordered, comprehensive environmental NEPA process 
     concludes, a new BiOp is in place, and judicial review is 
     complete; and
       Whereas, The federal legislation would prohibit studies, 
     plans or structural modifications at the dams which would 
     impair hydroelectric power generation or navigation on the 
     Columbia River.
       Now, therefore be it hereby resolved That the Commission of 
     Public Utility District No. 1 of Benton County, Washington, 
     (``District'') supports federal legislation H.R. 3144 
     introduced to ``provide for operations of the Federal 
     Columbia River Power System pursuant to a certain operation 
     plan for a specified period of time'';
       Be it further resolved that the District supports this 
     legislation as it:
       1. Offers a creative solution that is good for both listed 
     salmon and the economy of the Northwest and Benton County.
       2. Provides relief in the endless litigation of federal 
     hydro system operations by directing the federal agencies to 
     implement the current federal salmon plan, known as the 2014 
     Supplemental BiOp. This BiOp was vetted and supported by the 
     previous presidential administrations' top scientists and has 
     resulted in wild salmon numbers trending significantly upward 
     due to changes in operations and the installation of new 
     passage technologies.
       3. Provides time for the federal agencies to complete the 
     court-ordered NEPA environmental review process analyzing 
     federal hydro system operations and focuses the general 
     agencies limited resources on getting that process right. 
     Without the legislation, the agencies would be compelled to 
     author a new 2018 BiOp without the benefit of the new science 
     and public input provided by the comprehensive NEPA review.
       4. Avoids experiments or spill tests at the eight Columbia 
     and Snake River dams, and studies and modifications at the 
     dams which would restrict electrical generation, which would 
     create uncertainties in BPA's power costs and supply and 
     raise Northwest electric customers' rates.
       Adopted at an open meeting as required by law this 25th day 
     of July, 2017.
                                  ____



                                   United Electric co-op inc.,

                                Washington, DC, February 27, 2018.
     Re H.R. 3144 To provide for operations of the Federal 
         Columbia Power System pursuant to a certain operation 
         plan for a specified period of time, and for other 
         purposes.

       Dear Senator Risch: On behalf of the membership of United 
     Electric Co-op, Inc. (United Electric), I am once again 
     writing to seek your support to help pro-actively preserve 
     the economic value of the Federal Columbia River Power System 
     and its multiple uses: flood control, power generation, 
     irrigation, navigation and commerce and recreation. United 
     Electric serves 6,400 meters in portions of Minidoka and 
     Cassia counties in Southern Idaho and purchases its wholesale 
     power supply from the Bonneville Power Administration.
       As you know, the Bonneville Power Administration has been 
     plagued by litigation over the biological opinion which has 
     been vetted through three administrations and was updated in 
     2014 by the Obama Administration, referred to as the 2014 
     Supplemental Biological Opinion. Judges in Oregon have 
     ignored science, the experts in the industry, and NOAA's top 
     scientists in what appears to be agenda driven rulings.
       This common sense legislation temporarily keeps in place 
     the 2014 Biological Opinion's hydro system operations and 
     allows the court ordered NEPA process to continue with a 
     comprehensive and transparent review, while postponing costly 
     and potentially harmful experimental spill operations in the 
     interim.
       Please see the attached Resolution adopted by the Board of 
     Directors of United Electric in support of H.R. 3144. United 
     Electric supports the proposed legislation and encourages you 
     to join the bipartisan effort. H.R. 3144 is very important 
     legislation to the Pacific Northwest's public power, 
     agriculture, inland port and business communities.
       Thank you,
                                                           Jo Elg,
     General Manager.
                                  ____


                               Resolution

                           (October 23, 2017)


 Supporting H.R. 3144 Federal Legislation Addressing Federal Columbia 
                 River Power System Biological Opinion

       Whereas, Members of United Electric Co-op, Inc., Idaho, 
     receive 94% percent of their electricity from the Federal 
     Columbia River Power System (FCRPS); and
       Whereas, Hydropower provides 60 percent of the Pacific 
     Northwest's renewable, affordable and reliable electricity 
     which the majority of it is produced by the FCRPS; and
       Whereas, hydroelectric dams also provide many benefits to 
     the region, including irrigation, flood control, navigation, 
     and recreation: and
       Whereas, federal legislation requires the federal agencies 
     responsible for the management of the FCRPS (Bonneville Power 
     Administration (BPA), Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of 
     Reclamation) to operate the hydro system in compliance with 
     the FCRPS Biological Opinion (BiOp) approved by NOAA 
     Fisheries in 2008/2010 and supplemented in 2014, and
       Whereas, The FCRPS BiOp has successfully improved fish runs 
     including 97% of young salmon successfully making it past the 
     dams proving that both dams and fish can coexist; and
       Whereas, BPA has spent $15.28 billion in total spending on 
     infrastructure and fish mitigation projects since 1978; and
       Whereas, Despite the success of the current FCRPS BiOp, in 
     March 2017, the United States District Court for the District 
     of Oregon (Court) directed the federal agencies to undertake 
     a comprehensive review of hydro operations under the National 
     Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and strongly urged the 
     federal agencies to include analysis of the removal, bypass 
     or breaching one or more of the four lower Snake River dams; 
     and
       Whereas, H.R. 3144, ``To provide for operations of the 
     Federal Columbia River Power System pursuant to a certain 
     operation plan for a specified period of time'', was 
     introduced in the United States House of Representatives to 
     ensure the FCRPS BiOp remains in effect until 2022, and
       Whereas, The federal legislation would continue federal 
     hydro operations through September 30, 2022 or until the 
     court-ordered, comprehensive environmental NEPA process 
     concludes, a new Biological Opinion is in place and judicial 
     review is complete, and
       Whereas, The federal legislation would prohibit studies, 
     plans or structural modifications at the dams which would 
     impair hydroelectric power generation or navigation on the 
     Columbia and Snake Rivers; and
       Now, therefore be it hereby resolved by the Board of 
     Directors of United Electric Co-op, Inc., Idaho, supports the 
     federal legislation identified as H.R. 3144 which was 
     introduced to provide for operations of the Federal Columbia 
     River Power System pursuant to a certain operation plan for a 
     specified period of time;
       Be it further resolved that United Electric supports this 
     legislation as it:
       1. Offers a creative solution that is good for both listed, 
     salmon and the economy of the Northwest and Cassia and 
     Minidoka Counties.
       2. Provides relief in the endless litigation of federal 
     hydro system operations by directing the federal agencies to 
     implement the

[[Page H3552]]

     current federal salmon plan, known as the 2014 Supplemental 
     BiOp. This BiOp was vetted and supported by the Obama 
     Administration's top scientists and has resulted in wild 
     salmon numbers trending significantly upward due to changes 
     in operations and the installation of new passage 
     technologies.
       3. Provides time for the federal agencies to complete the 
     court-ordered NEPA environmental review process analyzing 
     federal hydro system operations and focuses the general 
     agencies limited resources on getting that process right. 
     Without the legislation, the agencies would be compelled to 
     author a new 2018 BiOp without the benefit of the new science 
     and public input provided by the comprehensive NEPA review.
       4. Avoids experiments or spill tests at the eight Columbia 
     and Snake dams, and studies and modifications at the dams 
     which would restrict electrical generation, which would 
     create uncertainties in BPA's power costs and supply and 
     raise Pacific Northwest electric customers' rates.
       Adopted as a non-binding Resolution for the purposes 
     recited herein at a regularly scheduled meeting of the Board 
     of Directors this 23rd day of October, 2017.

  Mr. NEWHOUSE. Mr. Speaker, many advocates for the environmental lobby 
claim to be pro-science, but it is clear that far too often they only 
rely on that science when it is convenient.
  The spill order mandated by this judge could have harmful effects on 
the very fish species the BiOp was created to protect, and yet my 
colleagues in opposition to this bill say that we are the ones trying 
to hurt the fish.
  Federal agencies and scientific experts warn of the risks these spill 
mandates can place on the fish. We should listen to these experts. We 
should support science. Now is not the time to be pushing ideology. Now 
is the time to be pushing pro-science pragmatism to both save our 
salmon and save our dams.
  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Lowenthal), the ranking member of the Natural Resources 
Committee.
  Mr. LOWENTHAL. Mr. Speaker, endangered salmon are not the only 
species that H.R. 3144 puts at risk. By removing critical protections 
for salmon runs, this bill would also push one of our most treasured 
whale species closer to extinction.
  As pointed out by Congresswoman Tsongas, the Southern Resident killer 
whales are critically endangered. In fact, there are only 76 of them 
that are left. These whales depend upon healthy and abundant salmon 
populations for survival. More than 50 percent of their diet comes from 
Chinook salmon in the Columbia River basin. Without access to these 
wild salmon populations, Southern Resident killer whales are literally 
starving to death.
  In order to save both of these iconic species, we cannot undermine 
important habitat restoration efforts or improvements in dam 
operations, both of which are essential to promoting survival in the 
river systems where these salmon spawn. Unfortunately, H.R. 3144 would 
do just the opposite.
  In addition, the Southern Resident killer whales provide immense 
economic benefits to the Pacific Northwest. Whale watching is a major 
tourist attraction in Washington and has contributed an additional $65 
million to the State's economy each year.
  Losing these killer whales would not only have an irreversible effect 
on the marine ecosystem, it would be a huge blow to the tourism 
industry and to the local businesses that rely on their survival.
  H.R. 3144 may be known as the Salmon Extinction Act, but, frankly, we 
should tack on Southern Resident killer whales to that name. Without 
access to waters beyond the Snake River dams, salmon populations will 
continue to plummet, and without salmon, the Southern Resident killer 
whales will die.
  The fate of both these species rests in our hands. I urge my 
colleagues to stand with me and stand with the whales and vote against 
H.R. 3144.
  Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, NOAA did a study 
which simply said that the hatchery production of salmon in this area 
more than offsets any loss that comes from the dams. So even though we 
have this issue of an endangered species trying to eat another 
endangered species, which one are we going to support.
  I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Lamborn), who 
is a member of our committee who understands this particular issue.
  Mr. LAMBORN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Utah for his 
leadership.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3144, introduced by Mrs. McMorris Rodgers of 
Washington, was considered by the subcommittee I chair, Water, Power, 
and Oceans. It looks to provide certainty and reliability to the 
Federal Columbia River Power System in the Pacific Northwest. This 
system includes four large dams in the lower Snake River in Washington 
State that provide the region with a number of benefits, including 
renewable emission-free hydropower.
  Despite all of these benefits, the power system has been mired in 
third-party litigation for decades. Some litigious groups have focused 
their efforts on removing the four dams in the Lower Snake under the 
false assumption that it will improve endangered species. In reality, 
however, these dams already have survival rates for salmon in the upper 
90th percentile.
  Most recently, a Federal court ordered round-the-clock spillover of 
the Columbia and Snake River dams that went into effect last week. 
These additional spills will do little to help the fish species, and in 
reality, do nothing more than leave the region's ratepayers to foot a 
spill surcharge estimated to cost up to $40 million per year.
  This bill ensures that the power system is operated in accordance 
with the current operations plans until certain reasonable targets are 
met. It was found to be legally and scientifically sound by the Obama 
administration, and has resounding support among stakeholders in the 
region.
  We need to ensure that science is guiding the operations of the power 
system and not judicial orders and special interest ideologies. We need 
a consensus approach by local stakeholders, not a mandate imposed by 
judicial fiat.
  This bipartisan bill is supported by trade unions, the Farm Bureau, 
regional stakeholders, and a number of public utility districts.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this good piece of 
legislation.
  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Huffman), vice ranking member of the 
Natural Resources Committee.
  Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Arizona for 
yielding me time.
  Mr. Speaker, today we are being asked to pass yet another bill that 
undermines the Endangered Species Act and accelerates the extinction of 
our Nation's fish and wildlife.
  Specifically, H.R. 3144, the Salmon Extinction Act, undermines 
protections for several runs of wild salmon and steelhead in the 
Pacific Northwest.
  The Northwest's iconic salmon runs are extremely important to 
commercial, recreational, and Tribal fishing interests across the 
country.
  My Republican colleagues are pushing this bill even though the 
region's salmon runs are currently at crisis levels.
  Recently, we have even seen reporting that, for the first time, 
Federal scientists who were surveying Northwest salmon populations came 
up with empty nets.
  And yet, here we are today, advancing a bill that will do nothing but 
accelerate our Nation's existing salmon declines.
  The bill also represents a troubling attack on the legal process. If 
enacted, it would overturn legally sound court decisions simply because 
the bill's sponsors don't like them.
  Instead of following the law, this bill forcibly mandates the use of 
an outdated illegal salmon recovery plan for the Federal Columbia River 
Power System.
  The recovery plan in question has clearly been found by the courts to 
violate the law and the Endangered Species Act. It is illegal, and 
Congress, through this bill, would be saying: Do it anyway.
  I should note that this bill also undermines one of our Nation's 
other bedrock environmental laws, the National Environmental Policy 
Act, or NEPA, by barring a host of actions that could potentially 
recover this region's salmon runs, which are currently, again, on the 
brink of extinction.
  The sponsor of this bill and I do agree on one thing, however. When 
talking about this bill, Representative McMorris Rodgers recently said 
that dams and fish can coexist, and I too think that is possible.

[[Page H3553]]

  The debate here is not about dams versus no dams. The debate is about 
striking the appropriate balance between responsible hydropower 
development and sound fisheries protection.
  For too long, there has been an imbalance when we consider these 
issues. Our country built thousands of dams in the 20th century before 
we even realized the harm that can be caused to our Nation's fisheries.
  So today, we are left with many legacy, low-value dams that don't 
justify their cost and their impacts to our Nation's fishery and 
natural resources.
  So as we consider what to do about these older, low-value dams, our 
decision making must be guided by the best available science and a 
consideration of all available options, not what politicians in 
Congress want.
  Unfortunately, this bill takes us in the wrong direction by blocking 
responsive science-based fisheries management. It would actually lock 
in a disastrous status quo until at least the year 2022; a status quo 
that is expensive, illegal, and inadequate; an approach that causes 
great harm to wild salmon, struggling fishing communities, Tribes, and 
energy consumers. The status quo is not working.
  This bill says: Keep doing it anyway.
  It is time for Federal agencies to pursue new, innovative solutions 
that are better for both fisheries and hydropower generation. This bill 
pushes a one-sided divisive approach that will only cause further harm.
  That is why it is opposed by the Governors of both Washington and 
Oregon, by Tribal interests, by hundreds of businesses that depend on 
healthy salmon runs, and also by numerous conservation organizations.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no.''
  Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman 
from Arizona (Mr. Gosar).
  Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the bill offered by 
Congresswoman McMorris Rodgers.
  This is a great piece of legislation that supports smart 
hydroelectric operation, a stable and integrated energy grid, and above 
all, reinforces that the United States Congress has a vested interest 
in ensuring it, Congress, rather than the judiciary, promulgates 
Federal policy.
  H.R. 3144 keeps in place the operational plan, developed by consensus 
through multiple agency processes and based in the best available 
science, for four dams in Washington State which have wrongfully come 
under siege recently due to an arbitrary court order by a judge in 
Oregon.
  In general, continuing to lean on hydropower as a long-term component 
of our Nation's electrical grid is an absolute no-brainer. Hydropower 
is a clean source of energy, and its reliability and cost effectiveness 
are just a few of the reasons it enjoys the stature it has today.
  It needs to maintain that stature, including the requirement of 
careful science-based policy crafting when changes to hydroelectric 
policy are in question if we are to guarantee a reliable energy future 
for our country.
  But if overzealous special interest groups have their way, we would 
immediately begin deconstructing and destroying all our dams across the 
country. To their mindset, dams are not natural parts of the landscape 
and, therefore, represent a most serious threat to the planet. To them, 
changes to the natural landscape are anathema, despite the fact that 
the only real constant on our planet and in the environment is change 
itself.
  The judges's order in this case in question is, unfortunately, in 
keeping with this very same mindset. This is not a stretch to say 
because he, in fact, fails to rely on the only available and complete 
science that informed past decisions concerning the Federal Columbia 
River Power System.
  These past decisions, keep in mind, included the Obama 
administration's green-lighting of the current operation plan in 2014 
that the judge seeks to overturn with his spill order.
  What the judge did in this case was to take it upon himself to depart 
from agency consensus based on sound science and ordered changes to the 
operation plan of the power system just because he wanted to.
  He ordered this major policy change first, which will cost 
electricity customers in the region $40 million annually, by the way, 
and pegged future changes to the outcome of a NEPA review which is just 
getting underway.
  But the only grounds for so radical a policy change would be if the 
NEPA review in question called for those changes when it is finally 
finished. The judge doesn't know what the outcome of the NEPA review 
will be, obviously, because it is still being conducted.

                              {time}  1545

  He made his decision without basis, and now the country is supposed 
to pay for it. Some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle 
constantly rail about how they oppose bills and proposals and prevent 
the National Environmental Policy Act review process from being carried 
out.
  H.R. 3144 also allows continuation of a court-ordered national NEPA 
review process. If my colleagues practice what they preach, then they 
would support this bill as it allows the NEPA review process to be 
carried out. Congress has an obligation to remind everyone involved 
that we are the constitutionally authorized policymakers and that we 
choose to make policy and require agency decisionmaking on the basis of 
sound science.
  This bill will keep the current operation plan in place until 2022, 
unless the NEPA process review finishes first, at which point the NEPA-
supported plan would commence. This bill abides by the proper statutory 
NEPA process, even though the judge's order fails to do that.
  As stated by the Public Power Council, H.R. 3144 allows a court-
ordered NEPA process to continue without avoiding a costly and 
potentially harmful spill experiment. The fear is that without this 
legislation, a spill regime will be put in place that increases 
regional power costs while providing no apparent benefit to the fish it 
purports to help.
  What is perhaps most crucial to keep in mind during this whole debate 
is the broader significance of this bill to any Member who has a major 
public works infrastructure operating in their district. Without this 
bill, it is possible that this judge's terrible precedent could stand. 
At that point, nothing stands in the way of an activist judge across 
the country waking up one day and deciding to put a halt to a whole 
slew of public works infrastructures which makes this country tick.
  H.R. 3144 is absolutely necessary to establish congressional intent. 
Sound process must win the day over the capriciousness of any given 
activist judge or his political leanings.
  Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record letters of support from the 
local public utility districts on behalf of H.R. 3144.

                                               Pend Oreille County


                                      Public Utility District,

                                      Newport, WA, April 24, 2018.
     Hon. Cathy McMorris-Rodgers,
     Hon. Dan Newhouse,
     House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Representatives McMorris-Rodgers and Newhouse: On 
     behalf of the Public Utility District No. 1 of Pend Oreille 
     County we greatly appreciate the support you have shown for 
     hydropower and, more specifically, the Federal Columbia River 
     Power System (FCRPS) with the recent introduction of H.R. 
     3144. This bill supports the hydro system and the many 
     benefits it brings to the region through renewable, reliable 
     and affordable power.
       Despite the success of the current FCRPS Biological Opinion 
     (BiOp), the plan has been rejected with a ruling that all 
     options need to be reviewed including breaching or removing 
     one or more of the four Snake River dams.
       Your bill provides relief to the endless litigation of 
     federal hydro system operations by directing the federal 
     agencies to implement the current BiOp as adopted in 2014. 
     The current BiOp is based on the best available science, has 
     been vetted by stakeholders and was formally approved by the 
     Obama administration. Implementation of the BiOp has 
     successfully increased salmon runs due to operational 
     requirements within, and the installation of new fish passage 
     technologies.
       The Bonneville Power Administration has spent over $15 
     billion on infrastructure and fish mitigation projects since 
     1978. These improvements and mitigation measures are paid for 
     by our customers through their electric bills. Their bills 
     are already higher by at least 15 percent for fish mitigation 
     programs. The ``spill test'' ordered by the judge will be an 
     additional cost that will result in higher electric bills for 
     Northwest families and businesses and likely to be more 
     detrimental to the fish runs than helpful. Your legislation 
     will bring an end to the wasteful activities.
       This is particularly important for Pend Oreille PUD as our 
     largest industrial customer Ponderay Newsprint is a large 
     consumer of BPA power for its operations. The

[[Page H3554]]

     unnecessary spending and additional mitigation costs continue 
     to put jobs at stake in our rural communities.
       We appreciate your leadership on this issue with the 
     introduction of H.R. 3144 and urge other legislators to 
     follow your lead.
           Sincerely,
                                             F. Colin Willenbrock,
     General Manager.
                                  ____



                                                Wahkiakum PUD,

                                    Cathlamet, WA, April 23, 2018.
     Hon. Dan Newhouse,
     House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Representative Newhouse: On behalf of the Public 
     Utility District No. 1 of Wahkiakum County we greatly 
     appreciate the support you have shown for hydropower and, 
     more specifically, the Federal Columbia River Power System 
     (FCRPS) with the recent introduction of H.R. 3144. This bill 
     supports the hydro system and the many benefits it brings to 
     the region through renewable, reliable and affordable power.
       Despite the success of the current FCRPS Biological Opinion 
     (BiOp), Judge Simon, U.S. Western District, Court of Oregon, 
     rejected the plan and ruled all options need to be reviewed 
     including breaching or removing one or more of the four Snake 
     River dams.
       Your bill provides relief to the endless litigation of 
     federal hydro system operations by directing the federal 
     agencies to implement the current BiOp as adopted in 2014. 
     The current BiOp is based on the best available science, has 
     been vetted by stakeholders and was formally approved by the 
     Obama administration. Implementation of the BiOp has 
     successfully increased salmon runs due to operational 
     requirements within, and the installation of new fish passage 
     technologies.
       The Bonneville Power Administration has spent over $15 
     billion on infrastructure and fish mitigation projects since 
     1978. These improvements and mitigation measures are paid for 
     by our customers through their electric bills. Their bills 
     are already higher by at least 15 percent for fish mitigation 
     programs. The ``spill test'' ordered by the judge will be an 
     additional cost that will result in higher electric bills for 
     Northwest families and businesses and likely to be more 
     detrimental to the fish runs than helpful. Your legislation 
     will bring an end to the wasteful activities.
       We appreciate your leadership on this issue with the 
     introduction of H.R. 3144 and urge other legislators to 
     follow your lead.
           Sincerely,
                                                David R. Tramblie,
     General Manager.
                                  ____

                                             Douglas County Public


                                             Utility District,

                               East Wenatchee, WA, April 24, 2018.
     Hon. Dan Newhouse,
     House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Representative Newhouse: On behalf of Douglas County 
     PUD we greatly appreciate the support you have shown for 
     hydropower and, more specifically, the Federal Columbia River 
     Power System (FCRPS) with the recent introduction of H.R. 
     3144. This bill supports the hydro system and the many 
     benefits it brings to the region through renewable, reliable 
     and affordable power.
       Despite the success of the current FCRPS Biological Opinion 
     (BiOp), Judge Simon, U.S. Western District, Court of Oregon, 
     rejected the plan and ruled all options need to be reviewed 
     including breaching or removing one or more of the four Snake 
     River dams.
       Your bill provides relief to the endless litigation of 
     federal hydro system operations by directing the federal 
     agencies to implement the current BiOp as adopted in 2014. 
     The current BiOp is based on the best available science, has 
     been vetted by stakeholders and was formally approved by the 
     Obama administration. Implementation of the BiOp has 
     successfully increased salmon runs due to operational 
     requirements within, and the installation of new fish passage 
     technologies.
       The Bonneville Power Administration has spent over $15 
     billion on infrastructure and fish mitigation projects since 
     1978. These improvements and mitigation measures are paid for 
     by our customers through their electric bills. Their bills 
     are already higher by at least 15 percent for fish mitigation 
     programs. The ``spill test'' ordered by the judge will be an 
     additional cost that will result in higher electric bills for 
     Northwest families and businesses and likely to be more 
     detrimental to the fish runs than helpful. Your legislation 
     will bring an end to the wasteful activities.
       We appreciate your leadership on this issue with the 
     introduction of H.R. 3144 and urge other legislators to 
     follow your lead.
           Sincerely,
                                                    Gary R. Ivory,
     General Manager.
                                  ____

       Representative Newhouse: I wanted to reiterate to you one 
     more time how important the bill you co-sponsored, H.R. 3144, 
     is to Franklin PUD and our customers. We hope the bill gains 
     positive traction this week and advances to the House Floor.
       Your bill provides relief to the endless litigation of 
     federal hydro system operations by directing the federal 
     agencies to implement the current BiOp as adopted in 2014. 
     The current BiOp is based on the best available science, has 
     been vetted by stakeholders and was formally approved by the 
     Obama administration. Implementation of the BiOp has 
     successfully increased salmon runs due to operational 
     requirements within, and the installation of new fish passage 
     technologies.
       The Bonneville Power Administration has spent over $15 
     billion on infrastructure and fish mitigation projects since 
     1978. These improvements and mitigation measures are paid for 
     by our customers through their electric bills. For Franklin 
     PUD customers, their bills are already higher by at least 15-
     18 percent for fish mitigation programs. The ``spill test'' 
     ordered by the judge will be an additional cost that will 
     result in higher electric bills for Northwest families, 
     businesses, and Franklin PUD customers, and is likely to be 
     more detrimental to the fish runs than helpful. Your 
     legislation will bring an end to the wasteful activities.
       We appreciate your leadership on this issue with the 
     introduction of H.R. 3144 and urge other legislators to 
     follow your lead. Thanks again for coming to the Tri-Cities 
     this month to hear our customers issues regarding ag, 
     irrigation and fish, that are all impacted by the continuance 
     of this spill that is not required.

                                           Debbie Bone-Harris,

                                      Sr. Manager, Public Affairs,
     Franklin PUD.
                                  ____


                          Resolution No. 8860


   A RESOLUTION SUPPORTING H.R. 3144 FEDERAL LEGISLATION ADDRESSING 
             COLUMBIA RIVER POWER SYSTEM BIOLOGICAL OPINION

                                Recitals

       1. The state of Washington is the leading U.S. producer of 
     hydropower, routinely contributing more than one-fourth of 
     the nation's total net hydroelectric generation;
       2. Hydropower accounts for between two-thirds and four-
     fifths of Washington's electricity generation, providing 
     renewable and inexpensive electricity to the region's farms, 
     homes, businesses, schools and industries;
       3. The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), U.S. Army 
     Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation are 
     responsible for the management of the Federal Columbia River 
     Power System (FCRPS) in compliance with the Biological 
     Opinion (BiOp) approved by NOAA Fisheries in 2008/2010 and 
     supplemented in 2014;
       4. The FCRPS BiOp has helped to improve fish runs, 
     including 97% of young salmon successfully making it past the 
     federal dams, demonstrating that both renewable hydropower 
     and fish can coexist;
       5. Despite the success of the current FCRPS BiOp, in March 
     2017, the United States Court for the District of Oregon 
     directed the federal agencies to undertake a comprehensive 
     review of hydro operations under the National Environmental 
     Policy Act (NEPA) and strongly urged the federal agencies to 
     include analysis of the removal, bypass or breaching one of 
     more of the four lower Snake River hydropower dams;
       6. Bipartisan legislation, H.R. 3144, provides a creative 
     solution to the endless litigation over federal hydro system 
     operations by directing the federal agencies to implement the 
     current federal salmon plan, known as the 2014 Supplemental 
     BiOp. That plan:
       a. Was vetted and supported by the Obama Administration's 
     top scientists;
       b. Has resulted in improved young salmon survival at the 
     federal dams due to changes in operations and the 
     installation of new fish passage technologies;
       c. Restored thousands of acres of habitat in rivers, the 
     estuary and floodplains for salmon spawning and rearing; and
       d. Would allow federal hydropower operations to continue 
     through September 30, 2022 or until the court-ordered, 
     comprehensive environmental NEPA process concludes, a new 
     BiOp is in place and judicial review is complete.
       7. Without the legislation, the federal agencies would be 
     compelled to author a new 2018 BiOp without the benefit of 
     the new science and public input provided by the 
     comprehensive NEPA review; and
       8. H.R. 3144 was introduced by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers 
     (R-WA) and co-sponsored by Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA), Rep. 
     Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA), Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-OR) and 
     Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR).
       Now therefore, be it resolved by the Commission of Public 
     Utility District No. 2 of Grant County, Washington, that 
     Grant PUP supports H.R. 3144, and applauds the co-sponsors of 
     this bipartisan legislation as it:
       Offers a creative solution that is good for both salmon, 
     renewable hydropower and the economy of the Northwest.
       Provides relief in the endless litigation of the federal 
     hydro system.
       Provides time for the federal agencies to complete the 
     court-ordered NEPA environmental review process.
       Avoids experiments, modifications or spill tests at the 
     eight federal Columbia and Snake River dams, which could have 
     the potential to unnecessarily restrict renewable electric 
     generation, create uncertainties in BPAss power costs and 
     supply, and raise Northwest customers' electric rates.
       Passed and approved by the Commission of Public Utility 
     District No. 2 of Grant County, Washington this 24 day of 
     October 2017.
                                  ____


             Resolution of the Benton REA Board of Trustees


    SUPPORTING H.R. 3144 FEDERAL LEGISLATION ADDRESSING THE FEDERAL 
             COLUMBIA RIVER POWER SYSTEM BIOLOGICAL OPINION

       Whereas, Members of Benton Rural Electric Association 
     receive 86 percent of their electricity from the Federal 
     Columbia River Power System (FCRPS); and
       Whereas, Hydropower provides 70 percent of Washington 
     state's clean affordable and reliable electricity and 60 
     percent of the Pacific Northwest's electricity with the 
     majority of the power produced by the FCRPS; and

[[Page H3555]]

       Whereas, Hydroelectric dams also provide many benefits to 
     the region, including flood control, navigation, irrigation, 
     and recreation: and
       Whereas, Federal legislation requires the federal agencies 
     responsible for the management of the FCRPS to operate the 
     hydro system in compliance with the Biological Opinion (BiOp) 
     approved by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
     (NOAA) Fisheries in 2008/2010 and supplemented in 2014, and
       Whereas, This BiOp was vetted and supported by the previous 
     presidential administrations' top scientists and has resulted 
     in wild salmon numbers trending significantly upward due to 
     changes in operations and the installation of new passage 
     technologies, and
       Whereas, The FCRPS BiOp has successfully improved fish runs 
     including 97% of young salmon successfully making it past the 
     dams proving that both dams and fish can coexist; and
       Whereas, Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) has spent 
     $15.28 billion in total spending on infrastructure and fish 
     mitigation projects since 1978; and
       Whereas, Despite the success of the current FCRPS BiOp, in 
     March 2017, the United States District Court for the District 
     of Oregon directed the federal agencies to undertake a 
     comprehensive review of hydro operations under the National 
     Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and strongly urged the 
     federal agencies to include analysis of the removal, bypass 
     or breaching one or more of the four lower Snake River dams; 
     and
       Whereas, H.R. 3144, ``To provide for operations of the 
     Federal Columbia River Power System pursuant to a certain 
     operation plan for a specified period of time'', was 
     introduced in the United States House of Representatives, and
       Whereas, The federal legislation would continue federal 
     hydro operations through September 30, 2022 or until the 
     court-ordered, comprehensive environmental NEPA process 
     concludes, a new BiOp is in place, and judicial review is 
     complete, and
       Whereas, The federal legislation would prohibit studies, 
     plans or structural modifications at the dams which would 
     impair hydroelectric power generation or navigation on the 
     Columbia River; and
       Whereas, The federal legislation offers a creative solution 
     that is good for both listed salmon and the economy of the 
     communities served by Benton Rural Electric Association, and 
     provides relief in the endless litigation of federal hydro 
     system operations by directing the federal agencies to 
     implement the current federal salmon plan, known as the 2014 
     Supplemental BiOp; and
       Whereas, The federal legislation provides time for the 
     federal agencies to complete the court-ordered NEPA 
     environmental review process analyzing federal hydro system 
     operations and focuses the general agencies limited resources 
     on getting that process right.
       Whereas, without the legislation, the agencies would be 
     compelled to author a new 2018 BiOp without the benefit of 
     the new science and public input provided by the 
     comprehensive NEPA review, and avoids experiments or spill 
     tests at the eight Columbia and Snake dams, and studies and 
     modifications at the dams which would restrict electrical 
     generation, which would create uncertainties in BPA's power 
     costs and supply and raise Northwest electric customers' 
     rates.
       Now, therefore be it resolved that the Board of Trustees of 
     Benton Rural Electric Association supports the passage of 
     H.R. 3144 this July 26, 2017.
                                         Washington Public Utility


                                        Districts Association,

                                                      Olympia, WA.
     Hon. Dan Newhouse,
     House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Representative Newhouse: On behalf of the Washington 
     PUD Association we greatly appreciate the support you have 
     shown for hydropower and, more specifically, the Federal 
     Columbia River Power System (FCRPS) with the recent 
     introduction of--H.R. 3144. This bill supports the hydro 
     system and the many benefits it brings to the region through 
     renewable, reliable and affordable power.
       Despite the success of the current FCRPS Biological Opinion 
     (BiOp), Judge Simon, U.S. Western District, Court of Oregon, 
     rejected the plan and ruled all options need to be reviewed 
     including breaching or removing one or more of the four Snake 
     River dams.
       Your bill provides relief to the endless litigation of 
     federal hydro system operations by directing the federal 
     agencies to implement the current BiOp as adopted in 2014. 
     The current BiOp is based on the best available science, has 
     been vetted by stakeholders and was formally approved by the 
     Obama administration. Implementation of the BiOp has 
     successfully increased salmon runs due to operational 
     requirements within, and the installation of new fish passage 
     technologies.
       The Bonneville Power Administration has spent over $15 
     billion on infrastructure and fish mitigation projects since 
     1978. These improvements and mitigation measures are paid for 
     by our customers through their electric bills. Their bills 
     are already higher by at least 15 percent for fish mitigation 
     programs. The ``spill test'' ordered by the judge will be an 
     additional cost that will result in higher electric bills for 
     Northwest families and businesses and likely to be more 
     detrimental to the fish runs than helpful. Your legislation 
     will bring an end to the wasteful activities.
       We appreciate your leadership on this issue with the 
     introduction of H.R. 3144 and urge other legislators to 
     follow your lead.
           Sincerely,
                                                     George Caan, 
                                               Executive Director.

  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to speak to another problem and issue with this 
bill that one of my colleagues brought up in his statement, and that is 
the great harm it will cause to the Tribal interests in the Pacific 
Northwest.
  Native people of the Pacific Northwest ceded most of their ancestral 
homeland to the United States in exchange for the right to catch salmon 
and steelhead at accustomed places.
  The Federal Government has a long history of failing to protect these 
fishing rights. If enacted, H.R. 3144 would further harm Tribal 
fisheries which are a critically important source of food. They are of 
great cultural and religious significance to the Tribes. Just this 
week, the Nez Perce Tribe contacted our committee to urge us to reject 
H.R. 3144. I think Congress should heed this call and reject this piece 
of legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, the concerns have been laid out by the people who have 
spoken against this legislation. Essentially, this legislation, H.R. 
3144, violates bedrock environmental laws. Those concerns have been 
stated by Members who have spoken against the legislation. It harms 
businesses. It hurts the Tribes in the Northwest. It is an attack on 
the legal process, and, in the long term, it will hurt ratepayers.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``no'' vote on H.R. 3144, and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I am very happy to be here to present this particular 
bill, or at least sum up on this, especially as our good friend Mr. 
Todd Ungerecht has done so much for this particular bill and it is 
going to be his last time on the floor with us. So I appreciate all of 
his help on this. He is returning back to his native State of 
Washington where he clearly realizes how important this bill is.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill has support via policy from Washington, total 
support for the bill from Idaho and Montana, as well as eight other 
Tribes that live in this area, as well as the National Association of 
Counties, the American Farm Bureau Federation, United Power Trades 
Organization, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, National 
Electrical Contractors Association, Public Power Council, Washington 
Association of Wheat Growers, and scores of other individuals.
  I include in the Record a complete list of organizations that support 
this bill as well as letters that support this legislation.

                         Support for H.R. 3144

       National Water Resources Association, National Associations 
     of Counties, United Power Trades Organization, National 
     Association of Wheat Growers, American Farm Bureau 
     Federation, American Public Power Association, National 
     Electrical Contractors Association, National Rural Electric 
     Cooperative Association, Grand Canyon State Electric 
     Cooperative Association, Americans for Limited Government, 
     Arizona Farm Bureau, Arizona Liberty, Arizona Pork Council, 
     Asotin County Public Utility District, Association of 
     Washington Business, Benton Public Utility District, Blachly-
     Lane Electric Co-op, Clatskanie People's Utility District.
       Clearwater Power, Concerned Citizens for America (Sedona), 
     Cowlitz Public Utility District, Douglas County Public 
     Utility District, Franklin Public Utility District, Grant 
     County Public Utility District, Idaho Water Users 
     Association, Inland Ports and Navigation Group, Kittitas 
     County Public Utility District, Lewis County Public Utility 
     District, Mason County Public Utility District, New Mexico 
     Cattle Growers' Association, New Mexico Wool Growers Inc., 
     Northern Lights, Northwest River Partners, Pend Oreille 
     Public Utility District, Port Clarkston, Port of Morrow.
       Port of Pasco, Port of Whitman County, Public Power 
     Council, Salmon River Electric CoOp, Stevens County 
     Commissioners, Sulphur Springs Valley Electric Cooperative, 
     Tidewater Transportation & Terminals, Tri-City Development 
     Council, United Electric, Wahkiakum County Public Utility 
     District, Washington Association of Wheat Growers, Washington 
     Farm Bureau, Washington Public Utility Districts Association, 
     Washington State Potato Commission, Yuvapai County Supervisor 
     Thomas Thurman, Your Touchstone Energy Cooperative.

[[Page H3556]]

     
                                  ____
                                          Public Power Council

                                                    March 16, 2018
     Re Support for H.R. 3144--To provide for operations of the 
         Federal Columbia River Power System pursuant to a certain 
         operation plan for a specified time.

       Dear Members of the Northwest Congressional Delegation: The 
     Public Power Council (PPC) is a not for profit association 
     that represents about 100 consumer-owned electric utilities 
     in the Pacific Northwest on issues regarding the Federal 
     Columbia River Power System (FCRPS). As purchasers of power 
     from the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), PPC members 
     and their customers pay for a large share of the region's 
     fish and wildlife mitigation costs. I write today in support 
     of H.R. 3144, a bill that would stabilize a portion of these 
     costs while the administrative process proceeds in the 
     region.
       BPA is on the precipice of a serious financial struggle 
     created by consistent increases in its power rates over the 
     past decade combined with a simultaneous drop in the market 
     price of other power options in the West. As utilities begin 
     to choose lesser-cost options elsewhere, BPA will not have 
     the requisite customer base to fund all its statutory 
     obligations, including regional fish and wildlife efforts. 
     Without serious action to stabilize rates, BPA will struggle 
     in the near future to recover its costs, putting all of its 
     programs at risk.
       An important part of the challenge facing BPA is the 
     volatility of the costs of meeting its fish and wildlife-
     related obligations. H.R. 3144 would offer important 
     assistance in this respect by temporarily keeping in place a 
     federal hydro operations plan (approved by multiple 
     Administrations) through the 2021 completion of an ongoing 
     review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). 
     Upon completion of the NEPA process, it is expected that the 
     legislation would effectively expire and the NEPA-supported 
     plan for the federal hydro system would commence.
       H.R. 3144 allows the court-ordered NEPA process to continue 
     while avoiding a costly and potentially harmful spill 
     experiment. In addition to its estimated $40 million annual 
     cost to regional electricity customers, NOAA Fisheries' 
     Science Center modeling does not show appreciable benefits to 
     salmon and steelhead from this operation. Higher levels of 
     spill can harm fish from increased gas saturation in the 
     water. The fear is that, without this legislation, a spill 
     regime will be put in place that increases regional power 
     costs while providing no apparent benefit to the fish it 
     purports to help.
       Another threatening aspect to the proposed spill experiment 
     is that it would further limit the operational flexibility of 
     the hydropower system that is essential to reliably meet 
     electricity demand in the region and integrate other 
     renewable power resources. Further, it is expected that much 
     of the carbon-free generation eliminated by this experiment 
     will be replaced by fossil fuels, greatly increasing regional 
     carbon emissions, running counter to carbon-reduction goals.
       Your support for this bill can help keep the region's 
     hydropower affordable and can assist in stabilizing BPA 
     during precarious times. Urgent action on H.R. 3144 will 
     resonate for years in maintaining a renewable, flexible, and 
     carbon-free energy resource that serves as the region's 
     economic backbone. Thank you for your consideration.
           Sincerely,
                                                     Scott Corwin,
     Executive Director.
                                  ____

                                                      Mason County


                                    Public Utility District 3,

                                      Shelton, WA, April 23, 2018.
     Hon. Dan Newhouse,
     House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Congressman Newhouse: Thank you for your support of 
     federal, state and local agencies that provide cost-based, 
     carbon free energy to customers throughout the Pacific 
     Northwest. Specifically, we thank you for your strong defense 
     of the Bonneville Power Administration and its partners in 
     the Federal Base System.
       We at Mason PUD 3 applaud your efforts, and those of 
     others, who introduced HR 3144 to protect the viability and 
     value of the Columbia River hydropower system.
       We're pleased that HR 3144 affirms the jurisdiction of the 
     2014 Federal Biological Opinion for a balanced approach to 
     managing the Columbia for fish and hydropower. We are 
     concerned, as are others who depend on the river for their 
     livelihoods, about the increased role of the courts in 
     controlling this mighty resource. Management of the river by 
     appointed judges is precedent-setting. It bypasses science, 
     the experts who collaboratively wrote the Biological Opinion, 
     and is not in the best interests of our customers.
       PUD 3 is disappointed in a federal court ruling earlier 
     this month that will result in an experimental water spill 
     program at Columbia and Snake River dams. This costly 
     experiment is aimed at determining if sending more water 
     through dam spillways, instead of using it for power 
     generation, will help the passage of salmon in the Columbia 
     River Basin.
       The Northwest Power & Conservation Council notes in its 
     ``2016 Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program Costs 
     Report'' that public power customers in the Pacific Northwest 
     paid $621.5 million for recovery and restoration efforts. 
     Just over $7 million of that came from customers of Mason PUD 
     3 (based on our proportionate share of the Federal Base 
     System).
       To further burden our customers, and other public power 
     customers in the region, with the cost of an experimental 
     spill which has uncertain results, is an unjust judicial 
     abuse of those who we strive to protect.
       Your bill, HR 3144, will give much needed relief to public 
     power customers in a region that, through its wholesale power 
     rates, fully pays its way for the operation of the Federal 
     Base System. Further, through the directed use of the 2014 
     Federal Biological Opinion, it places management of the river 
     in the realm of science, not speculation.
       We thank you for your support and protection of the natural 
     resources of the Pacific Northwest. If you wish to 
     communicate with us on this matter, please contact us at any 
     time.
           Sincerely,
                                                Annette Creekpaum,
     Manager, Mason PUD 3.
                                  ____

                                                     Asotin County


                                      Public Utility District,

                                                    Clarkston, WA.
     Hon. Dan Newhouse,
     House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Representative Newhouse: We are writing to thank you 
     for your support of hydropower and the Federal Columbia River 
     Power System (FCRPS) with the recent introduction of--H.R. 
     3144. As an electric utility whose customers are dependent 
     upon reliable and affordable power, this bill supports the 
     hydro system and the many benefits it brings to the region as 
     a renewable resource.
       Your bill provides relief to the endless litigation of 
     federal hydro system operations by directing the federal 
     agencies to implement the current BiOp as adopted in 2014. 
     The current BiOp is based on the best available science and 
     has been vetted by stakeholders. Implementation of the BiOp 
     has successfully increased salmon runs due to operational 
     requirements within, and the installation of new fish passage 
     technologies.
       Despite the success of the current FCRPS BiOp, the judge's 
     ruling rejecting the plan will add costs to the over $15 
     billion the Bonneville Power Administration has spent on 
     infrastructure and fish mitigation projects since 1978. These 
     improvements and mitigation measures are paid for by our 
     customers through their electric bills and the ``spill test'' 
     ordered by the judge will be an additional cost that will 
     result in higher electric bills for everyone.
       Your legislation will bring an end to the wasteful 
     activities and we appreciate your leadership on this issue 
     with the introduction of H.R. 3144.
       Sincerely, Asotin County PUD Board of Commissioners:
     Don Nuxoll,
       President.
     Judy Ridge,
       Vice-President.
     Greg McCall,
       Secretary.
                                  ____



                                                  Cowlitz PUD,

                                     Longview, WA, April 23, 2018.
     Re: H.R. 3144.

     Hon. Dan Newhouse,
     House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Representative Newhouse: This letter is submitted by 
     Cowlitz PUD, serving roughly 50,000 electric customers 
     located on or near the mighty Columbia River. The District 
     purchases approximately 90% of its power supply from BPA, 
     which is sourced primarily from the Federal Columbia River 
     Power System (FCRPS).
       We believe the 2014 BiOp is the best solution and we 
     believe H.R. 3144 puts that solution in place.
       We appreciate your leadership on H.R. 3144 and urge other 
     legislators to follow your lead.
           Sincerely,

                                               Steven D. Kern,

                                                  General Manager,
     Cowlitz PUD.
                                  ____



                                                  Cowlitz PUD,

                                     Longview, WA, April 23, 2018.
     Re: H.R. 3144.

     Hon. Dan Newhouse,
     House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Representative Newhouse: I write you this letter 
     individually supporting H.R. 3144.
       The 50,000 customers I represent continue to be impacted by 
     interests other than their own. The Federal Columbia River 
     Power System (FCRPS) has been bought and paid for by electric 
     customers but is now being run from the bench of our 9th 
     District court rather than the labs and control rooms of 
     scientists and system operators. Experimental spill 
     operations and targeted political outcomes have no place in 
     the river system that powers our homes, underpins our 
     economy, and funds our fish recovery.
       I appreciate your leadership.
           Sincerely,
                                                 Dena Diamond-Ott,
                            Cowlitz PUD Commissioner--District #1.

[[Page H3557]]

     
                                  ____
                                                  Kittitas County,


                                Public Utility District No. 1,

                                   Ellensburg, WA, April 23, 2018.
     Hon. Dan Newhouse,
     House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Representative Newhouse: On behalf of Kittitas PUD No. 
     1 we greatly appreciate the support you have shown for 
     hydropower and, more specifically, the Federal Columbia River 
     Power System (FCRPS) with the recent introduction of H.R. 
     3144. This bill supports the hydro system and the many 
     benefits it brings to the region through renewable, reliable 
     and affordable power.
       Despite the success of the current FCRPS Biological Opinion 
     (BiOp), Judge Simon, U.S. Western District, Court of Oregon, 
     rejected the plan and ruled all options need to be reviewed 
     including breaching or removing one or more of the four Snake 
     River dams.
       Your bill provides relief to the endless litigation of 
     federal hydro system operations by directing the federal 
     agencies to implement the current BiOp as adopted in 2014. 
     The current BiOp is based on the best available science, has 
     been vetted by stakeholders and was formally approved by the 
     Obama administration. Implementation of the BiOp has 
     successfully increased salmon runs due to operational 
     requirements within, and the installation of new fish passage 
     technologies.
       The Bonneville Power Administration has spent over $15 
     billion on infrastructure and fish mitigation projects since 
     1978. These improvements and mitigation measures are paid for 
     by our customers through their electric bills. Their bills 
     are already higher by at least 15 percent for fish mitigation 
     programs. The ``spill test'' ordered by the judge will be an 
     additional cost that will result in higher electric bills for 
     Northwest families and businesses and likely to be more 
     detrimental to the fish runs than helpful. Your legislation 
     will bring an end to the wasteful activities.
       We appreciate your leadership on this issue with the 
     introduction of H.R. 3144 and urge other legislators to 
     follow your lead.
           Sincerely,
                                                    Matthew Boast,
     General Manager.
                                  ____

                                                     Lewis County,


                                      Public Utility District,

                                     Chehalis, WA, April 24, 2018.
     Hon. Dan Newhouse,
     House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Representative Newhouse: On behalf of Public Utility 
     District No. 1 of Lewis County, we appreciate your support 
     for hydropower and the Federal Columbia River Power System 
     (FCRPS). The recent introduction of H.R. 3144 supports the 
     hydro systems many benefits to the region by providing 
     renewable, reliable and affordable power.
       The current FCRPS Biological Opinion (BiOp) is based on the 
     best available science and has been vetted by stakeholders 
     and was formally approved by the Obama administration. 
     Implementation of the BiOp has successfully increased salmon 
     runs due to operational requirements within, and the 
     installation of new fish passage technologies. Despite the 
     success of the current BiOp, Judge Simon, U.S. Western 
     District, Court of Oregon, rejected the plan and ruled all 
     options need to be reviewed including breaching or removing 
     one or more of the four Snake River dams.
       The Bonneville Power Administration has already spent over 
     $15 billion on infrastructure and fish mitigation projects 
     since 1978. These improvements and mitigation measures are 
     paid for by our customers through their electric bills. Their 
     bills are already higher by at least 15 percent for fish 
     mitigation programs. The ``spill test'' ordered by the judge 
     will be an additional cost that will result in higher 
     electric bills for Northwest families and businesses and 
     likely to be more detrimental to the fish runs than helpful.
       Your bill provides relief to the endless litigation of 
     federal hydro system operations by directing the federal 
     agencies to implement the current BiOp as adopted in 2014 and 
     your legislation will bring an end to wasteful activities.
       We appreciate your leadership on this issue with the 
     introduction of H.R. 3144 and urge other legislators to 
     follow your lead.
           Sincerely,
     Commissioner Dean Dahlin.
     Commissioner Ben Kostick.
     Commissioner Tim Cournyer.

  Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, here is the bottom line for this 
particular piece of legislation:
  States agree to it. There are nine Tribes in this area. Eight of them 
totally support this particular bill. The Obama administration created 
a biological opinion which endorsed the ESA and was legal with the ESA. 
A judge decided to change all of that and ordered a spill with no 
apparent rationale to it.
  Mr. Speaker, there is no one over here who hates salmon. We are not 
trying to kill them all. Heaven knows, the only way I would like to 
kill salmon is if I am consuming them myself. However, in 2011, another 
spill took place on this particular river which had the process of 
actually killing this endangered species that was there.
  This judge's order, without any kind of rationale to it, could indeed 
be one of the situations that actually sterilizes this river and the 
species rather than protecting the river and the species.
  Let's allow river operators to operate the river. Let's allow 
scientists to conduct the science and let judges go back to granting 
divorces. Allowing a judge with no background in these issues to 
dictate river operations and subvert the science is totally 
irresponsible on our part.
  This is a piece of legislation that clearly is a win for the 
ratepayers to a tune of $40 million that they would have to do if this 
decision by the judge stands. It is also a win for taxpayers to the 
tune of about $16 million. It is a win for the fish by preventing a 
potentially deadly environmental decision that has no basis in actual 
science. And, once again, it was the last administration that created 
the pattern in which we are going.
  Let's go back to that and do it. Now, if another science or 
biological opinion needs to be done, let it happen, but don't allow the 
judge to change what the river operators are saying is the wisest 
policy until you do that. That is the basis of this particular bill. It 
helps the power. It helps the fish. It helps all of us. And let's face 
it, if you are not using that hydropower, you are going to have to pick 
up fossil fuel power to make up the difference--see which one actually 
is healthier for the environment.
  Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleagues for doing this, and I urge all 
in the House to support this legislation which is a bipartisan bill 
that has bipartisan support.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Shuster for agreeing to help expedite 
consideration of this bill today.
                                         House of Representatives,


                               Committee on Natural Resources,

                                   Washington, DC, April 12, 2018.
     Hon. Bill Shuster,
     Chairman, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 
         Washington, DC
       Dear Mr. Chairman: I write regarding H.R. 3144, to provide 
     for operations of the Federal Columbia River Power System 
     pursuant to a certain operation plan for a specified period 
     of time, and for other purposes. The bill was referred 
     primarily to the Committee on Natural Resources, with an 
     additional referral to the Committee on Transportation and 
     Infrastructure.
       I ask that you allow the Committee on Transportation and 
     Infrastructure to be discharged from further consideration of 
     the bill so that it may be scheduled by the Majority Leader. 
     This discharge in no way affects your jurisdiction over the 
     subject matter of the bill, and it will not serve as 
     precedent for future referrals. In addition, should a 
     conference on the bill be necessary, I would support your 
     request to have the Committee on Transportation and 
     Infrastructure represented on the conference committee. 
     Finally, I would be pleased to include this letter and any 
     response in the bill report filed by the Committee on Natural 
     Resources to memorialize our understanding.
       Thank you for your consideration of my request and for the 
     extraordinary cooperation shown by you and your staff over 
     matters of shared jurisdiction. I look forward to further 
     opportunities to work with you this Congress.
           Sincerely,
                                                       Rob Bishop,
     Chairman.
                                  ____

         Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, House of 
           Representatives,
                                   Washington, DC, April 16, 2018.
     Hon. Rob Bishop,
     Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Bishop: Thank you for your letter concerning 
     H.R. 3144, to provide for operations of the Federal Columbia 
     River Power System pursuant to a certain operation plan for a 
     specified period of time, and for other purposes. As noted, 
     the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure received 
     an additional referral on this legislation.
       In order to expedite floor consideration of H.R. 3144, the 
     Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure agrees to 
     forgo action on this bill. However, as you noted, this is 
     conditional on our mutual understanding that forgoing 
     consideration of the bill would not prejudice the Committee 
     with respect to the appointment of conferees or to any future 
     jurisdictional claim over the subject matters contained in 
     the bill or similar legislation that fall within the 
     Committee's Rule X jurisdiction. Further, it is our 
     understanding that mutually agreed upon changes to the 
     legislation will be incorporated into the bill via an 
     amendment. Should a conference on the bill be necessary, I 
     appreciate your agreement to support my request to have the 
     Committee represented on the conference committee.

[[Page H3558]]

       Thank you for your cooperation on this matter and for 
     agreeing to place a copy of this letter and your response 
     acknowledging our jurisdictional interest into the bill 
     report and the Congressional Record during consideration of 
     the measure on the House floor.
           Sincerely,
                                                     Bill Shuster,
                                                         Chairman.

  Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to H.R. 3144, a 
bill that would require the implementation of a specific Federal 
Columbia River Power System operation plan. I am committed to 
increasing consumer access to affordable and reliable electricity, but 
this must be done without jeopardizing our region's ecosystem. I cannot 
support this bill because it would undermine longstanding environmental 
protections, including the Endangered Species Act, harm salmon and 
steelhead populations, and threaten the recreational and commercial 
fisheries, tribes, and species that benefit from healthy salmon runs.
  The Endangered Species Act and National Environmental Policy Act 
require the federal operators of the Federal Columbia River Power 
System to consult with the National Marine Fisheries Service on how the 
System's hydroelectric dams could affect several salmon and steelhead 
stocks that are listed as threatened or endangered. Unfortunately, 
instead of responding in a systematic manner using the best available 
science, this bill would disrupt regional salmon and dam management 
efforts, jeopardize the existence of salmon and steelhead, and damage 
this vulnerable ecosystem.
  In addition to the troubling effects on the region's ecosystem, 
implementation of this bill could also harm tribal fisheries. Native 
Americans have lived and fished along the banks of the Columbia River 
for centuries. Despite signing treaties with the tribes to preserve 
their rights to fish, hunt, and gather at their accustomed places, the 
federal government has a long history of failing to protect these 
tribal fishing rights. Tribes have a right and a deep cultural and 
historical connection to the fish populations threatened by this bill.
  Oregon's economic vitality is dependent on the health of the Pacific 
Ocean and the Columbia River. We rely on the natural resources in our 
region to support a significant portion of our economy, and we are very 
vulnerable to changes to our ecosystem. This bill could harm the 
businesses that are dependent on healthy salmon and steelhead runs, 
including the commercial and recreational fishing industry, guiding and 
outdoor retail businesses, restaurants, and coastal communities that 
benefit from tourism.
  The Pacific Northwest's social and environmental landscape is 
changing. We need to find a sustainable path forward that supports 
renewable power, commerce, and habitat conservation for salmon and 
steelhead populations. In addition to supporting the responsible use of 
hydropower that does not put salmon populations at risk, I also support 
investments in additional renewable energy sources like solar, wind, 
and wave energy. Through diversifying our investments in renewable 
resources, we can protect our environment and support new industries, 
jobs, and innovative businesses.
  In short, we can--and should--address the energy needs of our region 
without furthering policies that will harm our ecosystem. I urge my 
colleagues to work together to develop a more appropriate solution that 
will protect salmon and steelhead and provide affordable and reliable 
electricity to consumers in the Pacific Northwest.
  I note for the record that my husband, Judge Michael H. Simon, wrote 
the judicial opinion that was discussed in the debate about this bill. 
Before voting, I checked with the House Ethics office and was assured 
that there is no conflict of interest under the House Rules because the 
bill does not benefit my spouse's or my personal interest or finances.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. All time for debate has expired.
  Pursuant to House Resolution 839, the previous question is ordered on 
the bill, as amended.
  The question is on the engrossment and third reading of the bill.
  The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, and was 
read the third time.


                           Motion to Recommit

  Ms. JAYAPAL. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is the gentlewoman opposed to the bill?
  Ms. JAYAPAL. Mr. Speaker, I am opposed.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the motion to 
recommit.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Ms. Jayapal moves to recommit the bill H.R. 3144 to the 
     Committee on Natural Resources with instructions to report 
     the same back to the House forthwith with the following 
     amendment:

       At end of the bill, add the following:

     SEC. 5. LOWER COSTS FOR ELECTRICITY CONSUMERS.

       Nothing in this Act shall prohibit the sale of electric 
     power generated by the Federal Columbia River Power System at 
     the lowest possible rate consistent with sound business 
     practices and other factors as required by current law.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Washington is recognized for 5 minutes in support of her motion.
  Ms. JAYAPAL. Mr. Speaker, this is the final amendment to the bill 
which will not kill the bill or send it back to committee. If adopted, 
the bill will immediately proceed to final passage, as amended.
  Mr. Speaker, I make this motion today in order to ensure that the 
millions of Americans who rely on public power can continue receiving 
affordable power. President Trump, in his latest budget, has proposed 
charging millions of Americans more for their electricity.
  The President wants to charge Americans what he calls market-based 
rates, which means that millions of Americans who rely on public power 
will pay more than what they pay now. This proposal has rightly 
provoked bipartisan opposition, and I hope my Republican colleagues 
will join me in rejecting this ill-advised proposal which will result 
in higher bills for millions of our constituents.
  Mr. Speaker, I should also add that the underlying bill is based on a 
false premise that rates can be lowered by shirking our 
responsibilities to protect our environment, restore our salmon 
populations, and follow the law. After all, restoring our region's 
salmon populations will reduce our costs in the long run.
  This underlying bill takes us in the wrong direction, and it is 
important to include some context on this complicated issue.
  Starting in the 1930s, the Federal Government began the construction 
of 31 hydroelectric dams on the Columbia River. These dams which make 
up the Federal Columbia River Power System, or the FCRPS, provide 
public power throughout the Pacific Northwest.
  However, it has become clear that they have operated in ways that 
pose serious threats to our region's salmon runs and violate our 
environmental laws. Several courts, including the Ninth Circuit Court 
of Appeals and the Oregon U.S. District Court, have ruled as such. The 
courts ordered a new biological opinion, as well as a NEPA review, in 
order to bring the plans in alignment with Federal law.
  Rather than letting this critical process continue, H.R. 3144 aims to 
circumvent our court system and the law by blocking legally ordered 
salmon protection measures. Congress should not be in the business of 
closing the door on legal and regulatory review processes simply 
because some Members don't like them.
  Some claim that the court process will make it more expensive for 
ratepayers due to decisions like the one to increase spill over the 
dams, which this bill would illegally block. This process, which is 
meant to release additional water over the tops of the dams to ensure 
that juvenile salmon can migrate out, is a critical step in increasing 
salmon recovery rates. It is currently up for debate whether or not 
ratepayers will see an increase of any sort in the costs in the short 
term, but the long-term benefits of changes like this one are 
indisputable.
  The 13 species of steelhead and salmon that are threatened by these 
dams are crucial to our region, and our fishing industry relies on them 
for its survival.
  In 2011, Mr. Speaker, 34,500 jobs were provided by a healthy sport 
fishing industry which contributed more than $3.8 billion to the 
economy in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. And according to a recent 
poll in Washington State, a strong majority of voters are actually 
willing to pay up to $7 a month in additional costs in order to save 
our wild salmon and improve water quality because they know how 
incredibly important it is to all of our economies and our communities.
  Whether or not the increase spill will raise costs, that is not 
clear, but what is clear is that conserving these critical populations 
is a priority for the people in the Pacific Northwest.
  The irony, Mr. Speaker, is that H.R. 3144 will ultimately cost our 
ratepayers

[[Page H3559]]

even more money in the long term. Protecting our salmon populations is 
100 percent necessary. It is our obligation under the Endangered 
Species Act. So simply closing our eyes and hoping this all goes away 
is not an option.
  Additionally, the Native peoples of the Pacific Northwest have the 
undeniable treaty rights to catch these salmon and steelhead at 
accustomed places, meaning that these populations have to be 
maintained. We can't continue to fail to uphold our end of this deal, 
and this bill will move us further away from where we need to be.
  This issue has been addressed, and the review process mandated by the 
courts is doing just that. By denying the opportunity to implement the 
necessary science-based changes required to bring the FCRPS in line 
with Federal law, H.R. 3144 will cost ratepayers more down the line. 
Restoring the salmon population will be incredibly expensive, and 
gutting fisheries protections and kicking the can down the road does 
not serve our ratepayers well.
  We must move forward with the ongoing biological opinion review and 
the NEPA process, but we also have to ensure that we are continuing to 
be mindful of our ratepayers in the region. This bill will ultimately 
cost ratepayers more, not less.
  Mr. Speaker, it is possible to find a solution that works.
  I yield back the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1600

  Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I claim the time in opposition to 
the motion.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I do appreciate the commitment of 
the gentlewoman from Washington, the effort to solve some problems, and 
many of the issues that were brought up. Unfortunately, many of the 
issues that were addressed simply are not covered in the motion to 
recommit at the same time--great speeches, but not necessarily really 
relating directly to the motion.
  If you actually look at what the motion will do, ultimately, it is 
very clear that it will ensure that rates actually do go up; carbon 
emissions will go up; and farmers, families, union members, and small 
businesses will all have to eventually pay for it.
  The underlying bipartisan legislation, though, and not some poorly 
worded gimmick that cedes more authority to courts and lawyers will 
protect ratepayers and endangered salmon and the whales and the 
taxpayers at the same time.
  In all due respect, I actually feel happy that I was here when we saw 
a display of the Senate actually passing something. So I would suggest, 
in all humility to the other side, if they actually want to do 
something which would encourage my commitment and my approval of an 
MTR, it would be to realize and recognize something that happened 107 
years ago this Friday, in which the socialist Member from Milwaukee, 
Wisconsin, 107 years ago, Friday, introduced a resolution to dissolve 
the Senate.
  Now, if that were a motion to recommit, that I would firmly endorse. 
That would actually help us move forward. Unfortunately, that is not 
the motion to recommit in front of us. The motion to recommit does not 
help us move forward.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask for a ``no'' vote on the motion to recommit, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the previous question is 
ordered on the motion to recommit.
  There was no objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion to recommit.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the noes appeared to have it.
  Ms. JAYAPAL. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 and clause 9 of rule 
XX, this 15-minute vote on the motion to recommit will be followed by 
5-minute votes on:
  Passage of H.R. 3144, if ordered; and
  Suspending the rules and passing H.R. 5447.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 190, 
nays 226, not voting 12, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 152]

                               YEAS--190

     Adams
     Aguilar
     Barragan
     Bass
     Beatty
     Bera
     Beyer
     Bishop (GA)
     Blumenauer
     Blunt Rochester
     Bonamici
     Boyle, Brendan F.
     Brady (PA)
     Brown (MD)
     Brownley (CA)
     Bustos
     Butterfield
     Capuano
     Carbajal
     Carson (IN)
     Cartwright
     Castor (FL)
     Castro (TX)
     Chu, Judy
     Cicilline
     Clark (MA)
     Clarke (NY)
     Clay
     Cleaver
     Clyburn
     Cohen
     Connolly
     Cooper
     Correa
     Costa
     Courtney
     Crist
     Crowley
     Cuellar
     Cummings
     Davis (CA)
     Davis, Danny
     DeFazio
     DeGette
     Delaney
     DeLauro
     DelBene
     Demings
     DeSaulnier
     Deutch
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Doyle, Michael F.
     Ellison
     Engel
     Eshoo
     Espaillat
     Esty (CT)
     Evans
     Foster
     Frankel (FL)
     Fudge
     Gabbard
     Gallego
     Garamendi
     Gohmert
     Gomez
     Gonzalez (TX)
     Gottheimer
     Green, Al
     Green, Gene
     Grijalva
     Gutierrez
     Hanabusa
     Hastings
     Heck
     Higgins (NY)
     Himes
     Hoyer
     Huffman
     Jackson Lee
     Jayapal
     Jeffries
     Johnson (GA)
     Johnson, E. B.
     Jones
     Kaptur
     Keating
     Kelly (IL)
     Kennedy
     Khanna
     Kihuen
     Kildee
     Kilmer
     Kind
     Krishnamoorthi
     Lamb
     Langevin
     Larsen (WA)
     Larson (CT)
     Lawrence
     Lawson (FL)
     Lee
     Levin
     Lewis (GA)
     Lieu, Ted
     Lipinski
     Loebsack
     Lofgren
     Lowenthal
     Lowey
     Lujan Grisham, M.
     Lujan, Ben Ray
     Lynch
     Maloney, Carolyn B.
     Maloney, Sean
     Matsui
     McCollum
     McEachin
     McGovern
     McNerney
     Meeks
     Meng
     Moore
     Moulton
     Murphy (FL)
     Nadler
     Napolitano
     Neal
     Nolan
     Norcross
     O'Halleran
     O'Rourke
     Pallone
     Panetta
     Pascrell
     Payne
     Pelosi
     Perlmutter
     Peters
     Peterson
     Pingree
     Pocan
     Polis
     Price (NC)
     Quigley
     Raskin
     Rice (NY)
     Richmond
     Rosen
     Roybal-Allard
     Ruiz
     Ruppersberger
     Rush
     Ryan (OH)
     Sanchez
     Sarbanes
     Schakowsky
     Schiff
     Schneider
     Scott (VA)
     Scott, David
     Serrano
     Shea-Porter
     Sherman
     Sinema
     Smith (WA)
     Soto
     Speier
     Suozzi
     Swalwell (CA)
     Takano
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Titus
     Tonko
     Torres
     Tsongas
     Vargas
     Veasey
     Vela
     Velazquez
     Visclosky
     Walz
     Wasserman Schultz
     Waters, Maxine
     Watson Coleman
     Welch
     Wilson (FL)
     Yarmuth

                               NAYS--226

     Abraham
     Aderholt
     Allen
     Amash
     Amodei
     Arrington
     Babin
     Bacon
     Banks (IN)
     Barletta
     Barr
     Barton
     Bergman
     Biggs
     Bilirakis
     Bishop (MI)
     Bishop (UT)
     Blackburn
     Blum
     Bost
     Brady (TX)
     Brat
     Brooks (AL)
     Brooks (IN)
     Buchanan
     Buck
     Bucshon
     Budd
     Burgess
     Byrne
     Calvert
     Carter (GA)
     Carter (TX)
     Chabot
     Cheney
     Coffman
     Cole
     Collins (GA)
     Collins (NY)
     Comer
     Comstock
     Conaway
     Cook
     Costello (PA)
     Cramer
     Crawford
     Culberson
     Curbelo (FL)
     Curtis
     Davidson
     Davis, Rodney
     Denham
     Dent
     DeSantis
     DesJarlais
     Diaz-Balart
     Donovan
     Duffy
     Duncan (SC)
     Duncan (TN)
     Dunn
     Emmer
     Estes (KS)
     Faso
     Ferguson
     Fitzpatrick
     Fleischmann
     Flores
     Fortenberry
     Foxx
     Frelinghuysen
     Gaetz
     Gallagher
     Garrett
     Gianforte
     Gibbs
     Goodlatte
     Gosar
     Granger
     Graves (GA)
     Graves (LA)
     Graves (MO)
     Griffith
     Guthrie
     Handel
     Harper
     Harris
     Hartzler
     Hensarling
     Herrera Beutler
     Hice, Jody B.
     Higgins (LA)
     Hill
     Holding
     Hollingsworth
     Hudson
     Huizenga
     Hultgren
     Hunter
     Hurd
     Jenkins (KS)
     Johnson (LA)
     Johnson (OH)
     Johnson, Sam
     Jordan
     Joyce (OH)
     Katko
     Kelly (MS)
     Kelly (PA)
     King (IA)
     King (NY)
     Kinzinger
     Knight
     Kustoff (TN)
     LaHood
     LaMalfa
     Lamborn
     Lance
     Latta
     Lewis (MN)
     LoBiondo
     Long
     Loudermilk
     Love
     Lucas
     Luetkemeyer
     MacArthur
     Marchant
     Marino
     Marshall
     Massie
     Mast
     McCarthy
     McCaul
     McClintock
     McHenry
     McKinley
     McMorris Rodgers
     McSally
     Meadows
     Meehan
     Messer
     Mitchell
     Moolenaar
     Mooney (WV)
     Mullin
     Newhouse
     Norman
     Nunes
     Olson
     Palazzo
     Palmer
     Paulsen
     Pearce
     Perry
     Pittenger
     Poe (TX)
     Poliquin
     Posey
     Ratcliffe
     Reed
     Reichert
     Rice (SC)
     Roby
     Roe (TN)
     Rogers (AL)
     Rogers (KY)
     Rohrabacher
     Rokita
     Rooney, Francis
     Rooney, Thomas J.
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Roskam
     Ross
     Rothfus
     Rouzer
     Royce (CA)
     Russell
     Rutherford
     Sanford
     Scalise
     Schrader
     Schweikert
     Scott, Austin
     Sensenbrenner
     Sessions
     Shimkus
     Shuster
     Simpson
     Smith (MO)
     Smith (NE)
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (TX)
     Smucker
     Stefanik
     Stewart
     Stivers
     Taylor
     Tenney
     Thompson (PA)
     Thornberry
     Tipton
     Trott
     Turner
     Upton
     Valadao
     Wagner
     Walberg
     Walden
     Walker
     Walorski
     Walters, Mimi
     Weber (TX)
     Webster (FL)
     Wenstrup
     Westerman
     Williams
     Wilson (SC)
     Wittman
     Womack
     Woodall
     Yoder
     Yoho
     Young (AK)
     Young (IA)
     Zeldin

[[Page H3560]]


  


                             NOT VOTING--12

     Black
     Cardenas
     Gowdy
     Grothman
     Issa
     Jenkins (WV)
     Kuster (NH)
     Labrador
     Noem
     Renacci
     Sewell (AL)
     Sires

                              {time}  1628

  Messrs. ABRAHAM, AMASH, NUNES, WEBSTER of Florida, JOHNSON of Ohio, 
Mrs. LOVE, Messrs. WITTMAN, MESSER, LUETKEMEYER, McCARTHY, and Mrs. 
McMORRIS RODGERS changed their vote from ``yea'' to ``nay.''
  Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Mses. TITUS, MAXINE WATERS of California, Mr. 
ESPAILLAT, Ms. ESTY of Connecticut, Messrs. CROWLEY, WELCH, Ms. 
GABBARD, and Mr. GONZALEZ of Texas changed their vote from ``nay'' to 
``yea.''
  So the motion to recommit was rejected.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the passage of the bill.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. This is a 5-minute vote.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 225, 
nays 189, not voting 14, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 153]

                               YEAS--225

     Abraham
     Aderholt
     Allen
     Amodei
     Arrington
     Babin
     Bacon
     Banks (IN)
     Barletta
     Barr
     Barton
     Bergman
     Biggs
     Bilirakis
     Bishop (GA)
     Bishop (MI)
     Bishop (UT)
     Blackburn
     Blum
     Bost
     Brady (TX)
     Brat
     Brooks (AL)
     Brooks (IN)
     Buchanan
     Buck
     Bucshon
     Budd
     Burgess
     Byrne
     Calvert
     Carter (GA)
     Carter (TX)
     Chabot
     Cheney
     Coffman
     Cole
     Collins (GA)
     Collins (NY)
     Comer
     Comstock
     Conaway
     Cook
     Correa
     Costa
     Costello (PA)
     Cramer
     Crawford
     Cuellar
     Culberson
     Curtis
     Davidson
     Davis, Rodney
     DeGette
     Denham
     Dent
     DeSantis
     DesJarlais
     Diaz-Balart
     Donovan
     Duffy
     Duncan (SC)
     Duncan (TN)
     Dunn
     Emmer
     Estes (KS)
     Faso
     Ferguson
     Fleischmann
     Flores
     Fortenberry
     Foxx
     Gaetz
     Gallagher
     Garrett
     Gianforte
     Gibbs
     Gohmert
     Goodlatte
     Gosar
     Granger
     Graves (GA)
     Graves (LA)
     Graves (MO)
     Green, Gene
     Griffith
     Guthrie
     Handel
     Harper
     Harris
     Hartzler
     Hensarling
     Herrera Beutler
     Hice, Jody B.
     Higgins (LA)
     Hill
     Holding
     Hollingsworth
     Hudson
     Huizenga
     Hultgren
     Hunter
     Hurd
     Jenkins (KS)
     Johnson (LA)
     Johnson (OH)
     Johnson, Sam
     Jones
     Jordan
     Joyce (OH)
     Katko
     Kelly (MS)
     Kelly (PA)
     King (IA)
     King (NY)
     Kinzinger
     Knight
     Kustoff (TN)
     LaHood
     LaMalfa
     Lamborn
     Latta
     Lewis (MN)
     Long
     Love
     Lucas
     Luetkemeyer
     MacArthur
     Marchant
     Marino
     Marshall
     Massie
     Mast
     McCarthy
     McCaul
     McClintock
     McHenry
     McKinley
     McMorris Rodgers
     McSally
     Meadows
     Meehan
     Messer
     Mitchell
     Moolenaar
     Mooney (WV)
     Mullin
     Newhouse
     Norman
     Nunes
     Olson
     Palazzo
     Palmer
     Paulsen
     Pearce
     Perry
     Peterson
     Pittenger
     Poe (TX)
     Poliquin
     Posey
     Ratcliffe
     Reed
     Reichert
     Rice (SC)
     Roby
     Roe (TN)
     Rogers (AL)
     Rogers (KY)
     Rohrabacher
     Rokita
     Rooney, Francis
     Rooney, Thomas J.
     Roskam
     Ross
     Rothfus
     Rouzer
     Royce (CA)
     Russell
     Rutherford
     Scalise
     Schrader
     Schweikert
     Scott, Austin
     Sensenbrenner
     Sessions
     Shimkus
     Shuster
     Simpson
     Smith (MO)
     Smith (NE)
     Smith (TX)
     Smucker
     Stefanik
     Stewart
     Stivers
     Taylor
     Tenney
     Thompson (PA)
     Thornberry
     Tipton
     Trott
     Turner
     Upton
     Valadao
     Wagner
     Walberg
     Walden
     Walker
     Walorski
     Walters, Mimi
     Weber (TX)
     Webster (FL)
     Wenstrup
     Westerman
     Williams
     Wilson (SC)
     Wittman
     Womack
     Woodall
     Yoder
     Yoho
     Young (AK)
     Young (IA)
     Zeldin

                               NAYS--189

     Adams
     Aguilar
     Amash
     Barragan
     Bass
     Beatty
     Bera
     Beyer
     Blumenauer
     Blunt Rochester
     Bonamici
     Boyle, Brendan F.
     Brady (PA)
     Brown (MD)
     Brownley (CA)
     Bustos
     Butterfield
     Capuano
     Carbajal
     Carson (IN)
     Cartwright
     Castor (FL)
     Castro (TX)
     Chu, Judy
     Cicilline
     Clark (MA)
     Clarke (NY)
     Clay
     Cleaver
     Clyburn
     Cohen
     Connolly
     Cooper
     Courtney
     Crist
     Crowley
     Cummings
     Curbelo (FL)
     Davis (CA)
     Davis, Danny
     DeFazio
     Delaney
     DeLauro
     DelBene
     Demings
     DeSaulnier
     Deutch
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Doyle, Michael F.
     Ellison
     Engel
     Eshoo
     Espaillat
     Esty (CT)
     Evans
     Fitzpatrick
     Foster
     Frankel (FL)
     Fudge
     Gabbard
     Gallego
     Garamendi
     Gomez
     Gonzalez (TX)
     Gottheimer
     Green, Al
     Grijalva
     Gutierrez
     Hanabusa
     Hastings
     Heck
     Higgins (NY)
     Himes
     Hoyer
     Huffman
     Jackson Lee
     Jayapal
     Jeffries
     Johnson (GA)
     Johnson, E. B.
     Kaptur
     Keating
     Kelly (IL)
     Kennedy
     Khanna
     Kihuen
     Kildee
     Kilmer
     Kind
     Krishnamoorthi
     Lamb
     Lance
     Langevin
     Larsen (WA)
     Larson (CT)
     Lawrence
     Lawson (FL)
     Lee
     Levin
     Lewis (GA)
     Lieu, Ted
     Lipinski
     LoBiondo
     Loebsack
     Lofgren
     Lowenthal
     Lowey
     Lujan Grisham, M.
     Lujan, Ben Ray
     Lynch
     Maloney, Carolyn B.
     Maloney, Sean
     Matsui
     McCollum
     McEachin
     McGovern
     McNerney
     Meeks
     Meng
     Moore
     Moulton
     Murphy (FL)
     Nadler
     Napolitano
     Neal
     Nolan
     Norcross
     O'Halleran
     O'Rourke
     Pallone
     Panetta
     Pascrell
     Payne
     Pelosi
     Perlmutter
     Peters
     Pingree
     Pocan
     Polis
     Price (NC)
     Quigley
     Raskin
     Rice (NY)
     Richmond
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Rosen
     Roybal-Allard
     Ruiz
     Ruppersberger
     Rush
     Ryan (OH)
     Sanchez
     Sanford
     Sarbanes
     Schakowsky
     Schiff
     Schneider
     Scott (VA)
     Scott, David
     Serrano
     Shea-Porter
     Sherman
     Sinema
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (WA)
     Soto
     Speier
     Suozzi
     Swalwell (CA)
     Takano
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Titus
     Tonko
     Torres
     Tsongas
     Vargas
     Veasey
     Vela
     Velazquez
     Visclosky
     Walz
     Wasserman Schultz
     Waters, Maxine
     Watson Coleman
     Welch
     Wilson (FL)
     Yarmuth

                             NOT VOTING--14

     Black
     Cardenas
     Frelinghuysen
     Gowdy
     Grothman
     Issa
     Jenkins (WV)
     Kuster (NH)
     Labrador
     Loudermilk
     Noem
     Renacci
     Sewell (AL)
     Sires


                    Announcement by the Acting Chair

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (during the vote). There are 2 minutes 
remaining.

                              {time}  1635

  So the bill was passed.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
  Stated against:
  Ms. DeGette. Mr. Speaker, during rollcall vote No. 153 on H.R. 3144, 
I mistakenly recorded my vote as ``yea'' when I should have voted 
``nay.''

                          ____________________