Angie Craig: “I am pleased the Senator brought this issue forward because you and I live in an environment in the Pacific Northwest…”

“I am pleased the Senator brought this issue forward because you and I live in an environment in the Pacific Northwest that was substantially subsidized by American taxpayers to produce a massive electrical system known as the Bonneville Power Administration--direct appropriations of hundreds of millions of dollars to build a hydro system in the Snake and Columbia watersheds and in other places. These were not loan guarantees. They were just outright expenditures to be paid back. They have been paid back over a long period of time, and we are continuing to pay them back. So the American taxpayer, to our benefit, has always been on the hook in the Pacific Northwest for the production of energy. In fact, you and I worked to just get some borrowing capability for Bonneville to expand its transmission system--a big chunk of money. We fought for that, and we should have. Why? Because it will generally benefit the Pacific Northwest. It is not a loan guarantee. It is an outright appropriation to be paid back.”