Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield 8 minutes to the gentlewoman from Washington (Mrs. McMorris Rodgers), the sponsor, to introduce this piece of legislation. Mrs. McMORRIS RODGERS. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Bishop for yielding. Mr. Speaker, Congress created the Bonneville Power Administration, or BPA, in 1937 on the heels of the Great Depression to distribute power generated from the development of two federally authorized dams: Bonneville and Grand Coulee Dam. Our dams transformed Washington State from what was a barren, dry land into one of the most productive agriculture regions in the world. These marvels of engineering also provided the Pacific Northwest with the Nation's cheapest and most reliable energy supply. During World War II, it was the Federal power supplied by BPA that was instrumental in the ramp-up of the aluminum industry that went into Boeing's B-17s and B-29s, and powered the production of nearly 750 large ships before the end of the war. In the words of President Harry Truman: ``Without Grand Coulee and Bonneville, it would have been almost impossible to win this war.'' In 1945, Congress authorized the construction of four large dams along the Snake River, Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose, and Lower Granite, to grow what we call today the Federal Columbia River Power System.…”