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Newhouse's Defending Our Dams Act Goes Before House Committee by Joe Beach Capital Press, September 8, 2025

Legislation to prohibit the use of Federal funds to allow or STUDY
the breach or alteration of the Lower Snake River dams

Members of the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee heard about legislation designed to protect the four lower Snake River dams last week.

Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., introduced the legislation, H.R. 2073, the Defending Our Dams Act, in March. President Donald Trump in June revoked an agreement formed under the Biden administration between the federal government, the Nez Perce Tribe, the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation, several environmental non-government organizations, and the states of Oregon and Washington in December 2023.

That agreement at the time was viewed as a pathway to breaching the four lower Snake River dams -- Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose and Lower Granite dams.

Newhouse's legislation is designed to protect and preserve the dams.

"This legislation guarantees that federal funds will not be used to breach, or even study breaching, the dams and protects the Army Corps and Bonneville Power Administration's rights to control spillage operations," Newhouse said in a statement.

The legislation is co-sponsored by Rep. Michael Baumgartner, R-Wash; Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Ore.; and Rep. Russ Fulcher, R-Idaho.

Comments for and against

Clark Mather, executive director for Northwest RiverPartners, testified in support of the legislation, citing the "vital importance" of the dams for clean energy, river transportation, irrigated agriculture and progress made in recovering salmon and steelhead populations.

In December, the Northwest Power Council reported a 10-year rolling average of 2.3 million adult salmon and steelhead returning to the basin, an improvement from an average of 1.3 million fish in the 1990s, but below the annual goal of 5 million fish returning.

This was the first opportunity to have a legislative hearing on the bill, Mather noted.

"We want to work with the committee on a bipartisan basis, if possible, to move this legislation forward and to pass it," he told Capital Press.

Shannon Wheeler, chairman of the Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee, spoke against the bill.

"It is our obligation to the salmon, to our people and the people of this country to tell the United States of America that we are being burdened and that these fish that are supposed to be in the water are not currently in the water," Wheeler said during his remarks.

Tribes and environmental groups argue that the dams are the primary source of mortality for the endangered fish. Agricultural and hydropower advocates disagree, citing ocean conditions as an unknown factor and point to negative effects of removing the dams. Watch the hearing here.

'Important conversation'

"We thought the hearing was a really important conversation to have with Congress," Mather said.

The group serves not-for-profit, community-owned electric utilities in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Utah, Nevada, California and Wyoming, and partners that support clean energy, low-carbon transportation and agricultural jobs.

Northwest RiverPartners members hope to have the region come together, working with Tribes and other stakeholders, to find solutions, he said.

"We really want to widen and open the door to having those conversations," Mather said. "We hope we can do that over the next few months to identify a solution that works for everybody in the region."

H. R. 2073

To prohibit the use of Federal funds to allow or study the breach or
alteration of the Lower Snake River dams, and for other purposes.

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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

March 11, 2025

Mr. Newhouse (for himself, Mr. Baumgartner, Mr. Fulcher, and Mr. Bentz) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

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A BILL

To prohibit the use of Federal funds to allow or study the breach or alteration of the Lower Snake River dams, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the "Defending our Dams Act".

SEC. 2. LOWER SNAKE RIVER DAMS.

1. Prohibition on Use of Federal Funds.--No Federal funds may be used to allow, lead to, or study the breach or functional alteration of, including study of power, flood control, or navigation replacement of, or provide dam removal technical assistance for, the Lower Snake River dams.

2. Prohibition on Spillage Operations.--

   1. In general.--The Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, may not carry out any spillage operations on any of the Lower Snake River dams unless such operations are approved by the Secretary and the Administrator of the Bonneville Power Administration.

   2. Considerations.--In determining whether to approve spillage operations under paragraph (1), the Secretary and the Administrator shall consider all Columbia River System operations.

3. Definition.--In this section, the term "Lower Snake River dams" means the following dams in the State of Washington, authorized by section 2 of the Act of March 2, 1945 (chapter 19, 59 Stat. 21):
   1. Ice Harbor Dam.
   2. Lower Monumental Dam.
   3. Little Goose Dam.
   4. Lower Granite Dam.