On the recordJuly 12, 2017
Mr. Chair, I certainly appreciate that my colleagues are trying to help mitigate a small amount of the harm caused by this bill, but, unfortunately, the underlying bill remains a disaster for Indian Country. Title 5 of this bill is a direct attack against the existing rights of Tribes in my district. As I have said previously, the salmon in the Klamath River system are the grocery store, the church, the lifeline for the Tribes in my district, and this bill explicitly prevents Federal agencies from making emergency water releases to combat fish disease and prevent massive fish kills that would devastate these Tribal balance fisheries. That is important to remember, lest we get too carried away with whatever curative effects this amendment might have.
