June 19, 2024
| WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep. Dan Newhouse (WA-04) released the following statement upon the Biden Administration’s announcement of a Columbia River Taskforce tasked with finding ways to breach the four Lower Snake River dams.“This is what happens when a president bends to the will of unelected bureaucratic environmentalists that have no knowledge of how the world works outside of their D.C. bubble,”said Rep. Newhouse.Newhouse continues, “This taskforce, made up exclusively of Biden Administration officials, is a huge disappointment to those of us that are serious about improving ways for dams and salmon to coexist. Why are our local stakeholders and leaders not included on, or even informed of, a taskforce designed to fundamentally alter our region’s economic landscape? This is nothing more than a disingenuous ploy for this administration to check a political box in the name of environmentalism and tribal relations. Their only “task” is breaching our carbon free, renewable, and affordable energy base that supports the lives of the people of Central Washington.” Established by the White House Council on Environmental Quality and co-chaired by three federal agencies, the new Columbia River Task Force will coordinate efforts across federal agencies to further attempt to breach the Lower Snake River dams. Read the White House press release here. |