Protect and Restore America's Estuaries Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4044, the Protect and Restore America's Estuaries Act. As Co-Chair of the Congressional Estuary Caucus, I am pleased to support this bill to reauthorize the National Estuary Program through Fiscal Year 2026. The Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership, in my home state of Oregon, is one of the twenty-eight National Estuary Programs across the country. The Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership is leading outstanding resiliency efforts in the Pacific Northwest to restore and protect habitat, improve water quality, restore flood plains, and address marine debris. This bill will help the National Estuary Programs consider the effects of extreme weather events that are increasingly common in the climate crisis, and implement appropriate adaptation strategies in their management plans. Additionally, this bill takes important steps to allow the NEPs to better address storm water runoff, coastal resiliency, and accelerate land loss mitigation efforts. This past weekend, we celebrated World Wetlands Day. Our coastal wetlands and estuaries are often overlooked and undervalued, but they are on the frontlines of the climate crisis. We can help support and safeguard our National Estuary Programs by passing the Protect and Restore America's Estuaries Act.

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