[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 125 (Wednesday, July 24, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E980-E981]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     HONORING NATHANIEL ``NAT'' WASHINGTON, SR. AND HIS SON NAT JR.

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                           HON. DAN NEWHOUSE

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 24, 2019

  Mr. NEWHOUSE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Nathaniel ``Nat'' 
Washington, Sr. and his son, Nat Jr. Their public service transformed 
the Columbia Basin, Washington state, and the entire Pacific Northwest 
by securing hydropower as the foundation of the region's power system.

[[Page E981]]

  The Grand Coulee Dam is the largest power station in the nation. With 
a 6,809-megawatt generating capacity, the Dam supplies an average of 21 
billion kilowatt hours of clean, affordable, and reliable electricity 
to 11 States and Canada each year. Reservoirs from the Dam are the 
backbone of the Columbia Basin Project, which supplies irrigation to 
10,000 farms on 671,000 acres of farmland in the Columbia Basin.
  While residents throughout the Pacific Northwest reap these benefits, 
many are unaware of how the Dam came to be or how the work of a father 
and son changed Central Washington, our state, and the region forever.
  In 1908, Nat Washington, Sr., a decedent of President George 
Washington's family, left his home in Virginia and established a 
homestead along the Columbia River, not far from where the Grand Coulee 
Dam sits today. Shortly after arriving in Washington, Nat Sr. was 
elected as Grant County Prosecutor and the first president of the 
Columbia River Dam, Irrigation, and Power District. In this role, Nat 
Sr. played a key role in the conception, approval, and construction of 
the Grand Coulee Dam.
  Nat Jr. shared his father's passion for public service. After earning 
his law degree from the University of Washington, Nat Washington, Jr. 
also served as Grant County Prosecutor and later in the Washington 
State Legislature for 30 years. During this time, Nat Jr. was 
instrumental in the development of several hydropower projects across 
the region, including the Columbia Basin Project, which is the largest 
water reclamation project in the United States, providing nearly $2 
billion in economic benefits to the region each year.
  With these immeasurable contributions to Central Washington in mind, 
I rise to introduce legislation to rename the Third Power Plant at the 
Grand Coulee Dam as the Nathaniel ``Nat'' Washington'' Power Plant in 
honor of Nat Jr. and Sr. I urge my colleagues to join me in recognizing 
the contributions of these pioneers of Northwest hydropower.

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