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McMorris Rodgers, Newhouse Call on Inslee to Veto Dam Breaching Study by Glenn Vaagen Washington Ag Network, November 20, 2019

Earlier this week, Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Dan Newhouse called on Governor Jay Inslee to veto funding for a study that would look at the economic impact of removing the Snake River dams. The two Republicans are urging Inslee to veto the $750,000 line item in the capital budget that would commission a state funded study on how breaching the dams would impact Central and Eastern Washington.

Earlier this month, 39 organizations sent a letter to Governor Inslee urging him to remove the $750,000 from the biennial budget.

Despite the request Inslee approved the budget, with the $750,000 study Tuesday in Olympia.

Here is the letter from McMorris Rodgers and Newhouse:

“This study is a waste of state taxpayer dollars. We stand with the people of Central and Eastern Washington who rely on the Snake River dams in calling for Governor Inslee to veto the $750,000 line item in the capital budget. Instead of studying the removal of our federal dams, these state dollars could have been used to fund salmon recovery programs that directly aid endangered salmon species,”said McMorris Rodgers and Newhouse. “Our dams provide essential benefits to our way of life in the Pacific Northwest – from powering nearly 2 million homes with clean and affordable energy to providing market access for our region’s farmers and producers. As the federal government continues to conduct a comprehensive environmental analysis of the river power system, we will continue to defend the dams from these misguided, state-led breaching efforts. We call on Governor Inslee to veto this wasteful exercise.”