Providing for Consideration of H.R. Faa Reauthorization Act of Providing for Consideration of H.R. Providing for the Operations of the Federal Columbia River Power System; and Providing for Proceedings During the Period From April Through May 2018

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. NEWHOUSE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman, Mr. Woodall, my good friend from the Rules Committee, for yielding me such time.

Mr. Speaker, I also welcome Mrs. Torres to her first management of a rule on the floor. It is a pleasure to have her as part of the Rules Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the rule, including the underlying legislation, H.R. 3144, of which I am a proud original cosponsor.

H.R. 3144, Mr. Speaker, is a vital piece of legislation for my constituents as well as for the greater Pacific Northwest region.

The legislation keeps in place a groundbreaking, comprehensive plan which governs the operations and salmon protection management plan for the Federal Columbia River Power System.

This plan was the product of painstaking negotiations conducted by the Bush and the Obama administrations, scientists, engineering experts at Federal agencies, affected States, sovereign Northwest Tribes, and local stakeholders. In fact, every Tribe in the region was consulted in the development of the 2014 biological opinion, and all but one supported it.

H.R. 3144 ensures that Tribal consultations provided for under the BiOp continue unaffected.

These experts collaborated to develop this comprehensive plan to both protect Endangered Species Act-listed salmon and to provide certainty for our region's ability to continue providing clean, renewable, and affordable power derived from hydroelectric dams.

Now, unfortunately, a Federal judge in Portland, Oregon, has decided to throw out this comprehensive plan and negate years of serious concerted efforts by a diverse set of Federal, State, and local stakeholders. He has anointed himself the sole expert of this river system and has begun dictating scientific and engineering decisions.

As my friend Jack Heffling says: ``One judge in Portland does not know how to manage this river system better than the experts and professional workforce who keep the lights on for the entire Pacific Northwest.''

Jack is president of the United Power Trades Organization, a labor union representing more than 600 men and women who maintain and operate the equipment at hydroelectric projects throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Mr. Speaker, I stand with Jack today and all of the men and women of the power trades. I believe the experts, scientists and biologists, engineers, and professional workers at Federal agencies and on the ground working at our dams should be deciding how to best manage this system, not a judge sitting behind a bench.

Unfortunately, this judge thinks otherwise and now has mandated an ongoing forced spill order over eight of our dams in the region. This order could have devastating impacts on transportation and barging systems, on our flood control capabilities, and irrigation systems; it could impair our agricultural economy, both by limiting modes of transportation for our commodities and by hobbling our irrigation resources.

While there are no cost estimates of the effects this decision will have on transportation and barging, flood control, or irrigation, Federal agencies have estimated that the forced spill will cost ratepayers, utility ratepayers, $40 million per year in increased electrical rates starting in the very near future.

The judge's order could also harm the very fish he is claiming to protect. The Bonneville Power Administration, or the BPA, notes that the risks of exposing fish to the maximum total dissolved gas levels have not been evaluated, nor has it been recommended by the National Marine Fisheries Service or the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

They warn that the potential for adverse effects from exposure to these gases in the river is a concern recognized by experts in the region and also creates risk of adverse consequences for other aquatic species.

The judge's decision to recklessly dictate a water management plan could, in fact, harm or even kill these ESA-listed salmon.

This order also threatens the reliability of the Federal power and transmission system. BPA has also warned of blackouts, stating:

When the Lower Columbia and Lower Snake generators are operating at minimum generation levels, however . . . there is far less generation available for use. . . . Under the right conditions, local blackouts may occur if there is inadequate transfer capability in the transmission system to move the necessary electric power to loads.

I am already hearing from our local cooperatives and public utility districts that this threat is not far off. Our communities could be facing the risk of rolling blackouts in the coming months due to this order.

Mr. Speaker, it is because of this reckless antiscience order that constituents and stakeholders from a great variety of backgrounds and viewpoints have joined with me and my colleagues from the Pacific Northwest over these past several months to stand against this decision and support a rational, science-based resolution.

I have been overwhelmed and invigorated by these supporters, whether it is the barge captains on our rivers, who move commodities like wheat for export; or small-business owners, who depend on our affordable electricity throughout the Pacific Northwest; it is the union workers at our hydropower dams and the irrigators, who provide the incredibly vital resource of water for our region; it is the local cooperative managers and public utility district leaders across Washington State and throughout the Northwest who have rallied to bring this legislation to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives today, and I could not be more proud to stand with all of them in support of H.R. 3144.

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, not every aspect of this matter has been as inspiring. I have been disappointed to see radical and ideological groups use hyperbolic language to insinuate that my colleagues and I are actively advocating for the extinction of our native salmon species.

Let me tell you, Mr. Speaker, nothing could be further from the truth, and, frankly, I have been appalled that some of my colleagues in this very body have decided to use these same scare tactics to fearmonger other Members of this House.

They claim we advocate for an illegal or an unlawful plan that does not do enough to help fish, yet they fail to mention that it was President Obama's administration who formally approved of this plan after years of work with scientists, with experts, with affected States, and, like I said, with sovereign Northwest Indian Tribes.

Mr. Speaker, I take offense to these fringe voices and proudly stand with the reasoned, serious contributors who have been a part of these collaborative and unprecedented negotiations.

I challenge these detractors, let this plan actually come to fruition, let us actually have a plan that has the intent of continuing our salmon restoration efforts, rather than constantly bogging down our Federal action agencies and experts running the system in decades of litigation after litigation.

Honor the work of these diverse stakeholders who, in a good faith effort, worked to build a plan to both save our salmon and save our dams.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues, support the rule and support H.R. 3144. Join me to save our salmon and save our dams.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source