On the recordDecember 9, 2016
I want to say to my friends, this is my last moment on the floor of the U.S. Senate. I already gave my farewell, and I thought that was the end of it. I find myself filibustering my own bill, which is really a bizarre way to end my career here. As I said, I always came in defending the environment, and I guess I will go out the door in the same way. I feel that this is something I have to do. The Water Resources Development Act is a beautiful bill. We are going to be voting on it. But, very sadly, at the last minute, a midnight rider was added in the House by Kevin McCarthy, which essentially, according to every fishing group in my State--and I mean every single fishing group and every single fishing group on the west coast, and that covers Oregon, Washington, California--is a major threat to their livelihood, to their future. As everybody talks about the message of this election being the protection of hard-working people, here we have a rider that is slipped in. No one even saw it but 2 hours before, and it turns out that the water the fishermen need to have a thriving business is going to be diverted away from them and done in such a way that it goes against the Endangered Species Act. You will hear people stand up and say: No, it is not true. There is a savings clause; we say no way.…
