Jay Inslee: “Mr. Chairman, I am happy to rise in support of H.R. 1157, a great bill that has been introduced by our colleague, the…”

“Mr. Chairman, I am happy to rise in support of H.R. 1157, a great bill that has been introduced by our colleague, the gentleman from California (Mr. Thompson). Basically, it authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to provide financial assistance to the States of Alaska, California, Idaho, Oregon and Washington for salmon habitat restoration projects in coastal waters and upland drainages. As many of our colleagues are aware, there is more than 25 species of salmon on the West Coast right now that have been listed as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Several more are currently under consideration for listing. In 1999, the States of Alaska, California, Oregon and Washington proposed to tackle this crisis with a coast-wide salmon restoration effort, conservation effort, that would allocate $50 million of Federal funds to each State for 6 years to support salmon conservation. An habitat restoration project was very important at a regional and local level.”