Jared Huffman: “I thank the gentleman from Arizona for yielding me time. Mr. Speaker, today we are being asked to pass yet another bill…”

“I thank the gentleman from Arizona for yielding me time. Mr. Speaker, today we are being asked to pass yet another bill that undermines the Endangered Species Act and accelerates the extinction of our Nation's fish and wildlife. Specifically, H.R. 3144, the Salmon Extinction Act, undermines protections for several runs of wild salmon and steelhead in the Pacific Northwest. The Northwest's iconic salmon runs are extremely important to commercial, recreational, and Tribal fishing interests across the country. My Republican colleagues are pushing this bill even though the region's salmon runs are currently at crisis levels. Recently, we have even seen reporting that, for the first time, Federal scientists who were surveying Northwest salmon populations came up with empty nets. And yet, here we are today, advancing a bill that will do nothing but accelerate our Nation's existing salmon declines. The bill also represents a troubling attack on the legal process. If enacted, it would overturn legally sound court decisions simply because the bill's sponsors don't like them. Instead of following the law, this bill forcibly mandates the use of an outdated illegal salmon recovery plan for the Federal Columbia River Power System. The recovery plan in question has clearly been found by the courts to violate the law and the Endangered Species Act. It is illegal, and Congress, through this bill, would be saying: Do it anyway.…”