Political Quotes

“Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio). Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Chair, so the conditions are that these would have to be problem sea lions that have been marked; they have been removed; they have been harassed; they have come back; and they have to be 112 miles up the river. This is not a normal condition, that sea creatures are 112 miles up a freshwater river. There are critical areas on the Columbia, up by the dams, up by the Willamette Falls, and in some of the tributaries, which are the most productive salmon grounds in the country where they are starting to hang out. And they are eating almost exclusively salmon, steelhead, and now sturgeon, which are also a threatened species. As my colleague from Oregon said, NOAA will review the permit. We will have public comment. They will have a task force to review the application and make recommendations or modifications. There will be a NEPA review. That was one of the critical elements. It was a problem with the earlier bill, and a number of us insisted upon a NEPA review. NOAA will approve or deny the permit with conditions, and that will be monitored on an annual basis. Again, the argument that, well, other sea lions are just going to take their place, has not been proven by science. In fact, there are only a couple of hundred that are these problem creatures and are going upstream. Ultimately, others will follow them and become habituated.…”