Newhouse Takes Biden to Task for Columbia River Activities

Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) is none too pleased with President Biden's Columbia River Taskforce. Newhouse, a Republican from Sunnyside, has represented Washington's 4th congressional district since 2015.

Biden announced on Tuesday the formation of an interagency environmental watchdog group: the Columbia River Taskforce. Human activity - commercial activity - has put the squeeze on wild salmon, steelhead, etc. in the Columbia River Basin. With this initiative, the White House is endeavoring to restore native fish populations.

Get our free mobile app

The taskforce consists of Energy, Interior and EPA officials.

That's not all. The Biden Administration also published a report "acknowledging and detailing the historic, ongoing and cumulative damage and injustices that the federal dams on the Columbia River have caused and continue to cause to Tribal Nations."

According to the White House Council on Environmental Quality, "Federal dams in the Columbia River Basin have long delivered - and continue to deliver - renewable energy and many other benefits."

By the same token, federal dams have "inflicted - and continue to inflict - grave harms on Tribal communities."

Within hours of the announcement, Newhouse issued a smoldering statement. He accused the president and his acolytes of geographic cluelessness.

“This is what happens when a president bends to the will of unelected bureaucratic environmentalists that have no knowledge of how the world works outside of their D.C. bubble,” Newhouse said.

“This taskforce, made up exclusively of Biden Administration officials, is a huge disappointment to those of us that are serious about improving ways for dams and salmon to coexist. Why are our local stakeholders and leaders not included on, or even informed of, a taskforce designed to fundamentally alter our region’s economic landscape?"