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Promoting United Government Efforts to Save Our Sound Act

Floor Speech

Date: June 15, 2021
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Environment

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Ms. STRICKLAND. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1144, the PUGET SOS Act, which I am honored to co-lead with Congressman Kilmer, who I thank for working on this bill over the years. I also thank the Puget Sound Partnership and Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission for all their help. I am proud to work with you to restore Puget Sound.

Madam Speaker, as a western Washington native, I know how critical the health of the Puget Sound is to our region--economically, culturally, and environmentally.

The Sound is an economic engine creating over $30 billion in economic activity and supporting nearly 150,000 jobs. It is a biodiversity hotspot, home to over 7,000 different species, including 200 different types of fish. It is a sacred resource for Tribal nations throughout the region who rely on the flora and fauna the Sound supports for their lives and livelihoods. And it is a cultural treasure, with the salmon, shellfish, orca, and others which live in the ecosystem, that is fundamental to the history and identity of the Pacific Northwest.

For years, this ecosystem has been on the brink of danger, and we are at a tipping point. As the human population continues to grow significantly, the risks and strain on Puget Sound intensify.

This legislation takes much-needed, timely steps to secure the health of the Puget Sound now and into the future by establishing a dedicated program office within the EPA and codifying the Puget Sound Federal Task Force. Together, these groups will develop a Federal action plan to preserve and restore this most critical national maritime treasure.

Washingtonians view and use Puget Sound the way Marylanders view the Chesapeake Bay and how Michiganders view the Great Lakes. It is well past time the Federal Government does as well.

If we really want to make an impact, and support hundreds of thousands of jobs while trying to save orcas and salmon, we must act now.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

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