On March 23, Washington’s two Republican representatives, U.S. Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Dan Newhouse, introduced a bill to save the dams. Their Democratic colleagues from Washington were leading the charge in the other direction before the 2022 election. Sens. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, and Steve Daines, R-Montana, have introduced the same dam protection bill in the Senate.
“The dams are critical infrastructure to the Pacific Northwest,” said McMorris Rodgers, who chairs the House Commerce Committee that has jurisdiction over the dams.
Republicans said the legislation was especially important given a mid-March announcement by President Joe Biden at the Conservation in Action 2023 Summit, in support of restoring the iconic salmon
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