On the recordFebruary 18, 2011
This amendment is a Washington, D.C., solution to a very, very local issue. This amendment would stop a comprehensive local solution to a major and very costly problem in the Klamath River Basin. This effort at the local level, supported by farmers and ranchers, fishermen, conservation groups, the privately owned power company in question, tribes, as well as the States of California and Oregon, it has a very bipartisan root. It was negotiated under both the Bush administration and the Obama administration. It's a study. It does not, nor is it an agreement to, remove any dams. All the local communities in the Klamath Basin, even those who were opposed to dam removal, support the completion of the study and they are at the table working on this specific issue. Even the California Farm Bureau is in support of completing this study. It needs to be noted that only Congress can authorize dam removal. This amendment is not wanted by any of the stakeholders: agriculture, conservation, local government, the dam owners, sportsmen and -women, nor the tribes. It will exacerbate the already serious problems we face in the Klamath Basin watershed. I ask my colleagues to please join me in voting against this bad amendment.
