Columbia River In-Lieu and Treaty Fishing Access Sites Improvement Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Columbia River In-Lieu and Treaty Fishing Access Sites Improvement Act. This bill takes important steps to address an injustice that four Columbia River Tribes have faced for decades.

Beginning in the 1930s, the construction of the Bonneville, John Day, and Dalles dams on the lower Columbia River flooded many homes and traditional fishing sites. The flooding displaced members of the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, Nez Perce Tribe, and the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation. The Army Corps of Engineers designed 31 Columbia River Treaty Fishing Access Sites and ``in-lieu'' sites along the banks of the Columbia River to be used primarily for in-season fishing and temporary camping, but conditions have been extremely unsafe and unsanitary.

This bill would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to assess and update electricity, water, and sewer infrastructure at existing Bureau of Indian Affairs facilities that were constructed to provide treaty Tribes access to traditional fishing grounds. These Tribes have treaty rights to fishing access sites on the Columbia River and we must uphold our obligations to provide safe and sanitary housing and infrastructure. I thank Congressman Blumenauer and Senator Merkley for their leadership, and I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

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