Klamath Basin Water Agreement Support Act of 2024

Kevin F. McCumber, Clerk of the House, reported and found truly enrolled bills of the House of the following titles, which were thereupon signed by the Speaker pro tempore, Mr. McHenry, on Friday, December 20, 2024:

H.R. 663. An act to amend the Indian Child Protection and

Family Violence Prevention Act.

H.R. 1607. An act to clarify jurisdiction with respect to

certain Bureau of Reclamation pumped storage development, and

for other purposes.

H.R. 1727. An act to amend the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal

Development Act to extend the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal

National Historical Park Commission.

H.R. 2468. An act to require the Secretary of the Interior

to convey to the State of Utah certain Federal land under the

administrative jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management

within the boundaries of Camp Williams, Utah, and for other

purposes.

H.R. 3324. An act to extend the authority to collect

Shasta-Trinity Marina fees through fiscal year 2029.

H.R. 4094. An act to amend the Central Utah Project

Completion Act to authorize expenditures for the conduct of

certain water conservation measures in the Great Salt Lake

basin, and for other purposes.

H.R. 4385. An act to extend authorization of the

Reclamation States Emergency Drought Relief Act of 1991.

H.R. 4467. An act to direct the Under Secretary for

Management of the Department of Homeland Security to assess

contracts for covered services performed by contractor

personnel along the United States land border with Mexico,

and for other purposes.

H.R. 5646. An act to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965

to require institutions of higher education to disclose

hazing incidents, and for other purposes.

H.R. 5770. An act to reauthorize certain United States

Geological Survey water data enhancement programs.

H.R. 6826. An act to designate the visitor and education

center at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine

as the Paul S. Sarbanes Visitor and Education Center.

H.R. 6843. An act to expand the boundaries of the

Atchafalaya National Heritage Area to include Lafourche

Parish, Louisiana.

H.R. 7177. An act to amend title 28, United States Code, to

consolidate certain divisions in the Northern District of

Alabama.

H.R. 7213. An act to amend the Public Health Service Act to

enhance and reauthorize activities and programs relating to

autism spectrum disorder, and for other purposes.

H.R. 7332. An Act to require the Secretary of the Interior

and the Secretary of Agriculture to convey certain Federal

land to the State of Utah for inclusion in certain State

parks, and for other purposes.

H.R. 7524. An act to amend title 40, United States Code, to

require the submission of reports on certain information

technology services funds to Congress before expenditures may

be made, and for other purposes.

H.R. 8219. An act to require the Secretary of the Interior

to conduct a study to assess the suitability and feasibility

of designating certain land as the Lahaina National Heritage

Area, and for other purposes.

H.R. 8413. An act to provide for the conveyance of certain

Federal land at Swanson Reservoir and Hugh Butler Reservoir

in the State of Nebraska, and for other purposes.

H.R. 8663. An act to require the Science and Technology

Directorate in the Department of Homeland Security to develop

greater capacity to detect and identify illicit substances in

very low concentrations.

H.R. 9566. An act to require governmentwide source code

sharing, and for other purposes.

Kevin F. McCumber, Clerk of the House, further reported and found truly an enrolled bill of the House of the following title, which was thereupon signed by the Speaker on Saturday, December 21, 2024:

H.R. 10545. An act making further continuing appropriations

for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2025, and for other

purposes.

Kevin F. McCumber, Clerk of the House, further reported and found truly enrolled bills of the House of the following titles, which were thereupon signed by the Speaker pro tempore, Mr. McHENRY:

H.R. 82. An act to amend title II of the Social Security

Act to repeal the Government pension offset and windfall

elimination provisions.

H.R. 670. An act to direct the Secretary of Health and

Human Services to establish a website to promote awareness of

available resources for individuals with disabilities, and

for other purposes.

H.R. 1318. An act to authorize the location of a monument

on the National Mall to commemorate and honor the women's

suffrage movement and the passage of the 19th Amendment to

the Constitution, and for other purposes.

H.R. 1555. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 2300 Sylvan Avenue in

Modesto, California, as the ``Corporal Michael D. Anderson

Jr. Post Office Building''.

H.R. 1823. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 207 East Fort Dade Avenue in

Brooksville, Florida, as the ``Specialist Justin Dean Coleman

Memorial Post Office Building''.

H.R. 2997. An act to direct the Secretary of the Interior

to convey to Mesa County, Colorado, certain Federal land in

Colorado, and for other purposes.

H.R. 3354. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 220 North Hatcher Avenue in

Purcellville, Virginia, as the ``Secretary of State Madeleine

Albright Post Office Building''.

H.R. 3391. An act to extend the Gabriella Miller Kids First

Pediatric Research Program at the National Institutes of

Health, and for other purposes.

H.R. 4136. An act to name the Department of Veterans

Affairs community-based outpatient clinic in Plano, Texas, as

the ``U.S. Congressman Sam Johnson Memorial VA Clinic''.

H.R. 4955. An act to name the community-based outpatient

clinic of the Department of Veterans Affairs in Monroeville,

Pennsylvania, as the ``Henry Parham VA Clinic''.

H.R. 4984. An act to direct the Secretary of the Interior

to transfer administrative jurisdiction over the Robert F.

Kennedy Memorial Stadium Campus to the District of Columbia

so that the District may use the Campus for purposes

including residential and commercial development, and for

other purposes.

H.R. 5103. An act to require the Director of the Office of

Management and Budget to approve or deny spend plans within a

certain amount of time, and for other purposes.

H.R. 5443. An act to establish a policy regarding appraisal

and valuation services for real property for a transaction

over which the Secretary of the Interior has jurisdiction,

and for other purposes.

H.R. 5867. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 109 Live Oaks Boulevard in

Casselberry, Florida, as the ``Colonel Joseph William

Kittinger II Post Office Building''.

H.R. 5887. An act to amend chapter 3 of title 5, United

States Code, to improve Government service delivery, and

build related capacity for the Federal Government, and for

other purposes.

H.R. 6062. An act to restore the ability of the people of

American Samoa to approve amendments to the territorial

constitution based on majority rule in a democratic act of

self-determination, as authorized pursuant to an Act of

Congress delegating administration of Federal territorial law

in the territory to the President, and to the Secretary of

the Interior under Executive Order 10264, dated June 29,

1951, under which the Constitution of American Samoa was

approved and may be amended without requirement for further

congressional action, subject to the authority of Congress

under the Territorial Clause in article IV, section 3, clause

2 of the United States Constitution.

H.R. 6116. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 14280 South Military Trail

in Delray Beach, Florida, as the ``Benjamin Berell Ferencz

Post Office Building''.

H.R. 6162. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 379 North Oates Street in

Dothan, Alabama, as the ``LaBruce `Bruce' Tidwell Post Office

Building''.

H.R. 6188. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 420 Highway 17 North in

Surfside Beach, South Carolina, as the ``Nancy Yount Childs

Post Office Building''.

H.R. 6244. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 1535 East Los Ebanos

Boulevard in Brownsville, Texas, as the ``1st Lieutenant

Andres Zermeno Post Office Building''.

H.R. 6395. An act to amend the Energy Act of 2020 to

require the Secretary of the Interior to include the

Secretary of Health and Human Services in consultations

regarding designations of critical minerals, elements,

substances, and materials.

H.R. 6492. An act to improve recreation opportunities on,

and facilitate greater access to, Federal public land, and

for other purposes.

H.R. 6633. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 9355 113th Street in

Seminole, Florida, as the ``Army SSG Ryan Christian Knauss

Memorial Post Office Building''.

H.R. 6750. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 501 Mercer Street Southwest

in Wilson, North Carolina, as the ``Milton F. Fitch, Sr. Post

Office Building''.

H.R. 6810. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 518 North Ridgewood Drive in

Sebring, Florida, as the ``U.S. Army Air Corps Major Thomas

B. McGuire Post Office Building''.

H.R. 6852. An act to designate Holcombe Rucker Park, in

Harlem, New York, as a National Commemorative Site, and for

other purposes.

H.R. 6983. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 15 South Valdosta Road in

Lakeland, Georgia, as the ``Nell Patten Roquemore Post

Office''.

H.R. 7158. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 201 East Battles Road in

Santa Maria, California, as the ``Larry Lavagnino Post Office

Building''.

H.R. 7180. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 80 1st Street in Kingsland,

Arkansas, as the Kingsland `Johnny Cash' Post Office''.

H.R. 7365. To provide PreCheck to certain severely injured

or disabled veterans, and for other purposes.

H.R. 7385. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 29 Franklin Street in

Petersburg, Virginia, as the ``John Mercer Langston Post

Office Building''.

H.R. 74l7. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 135 West Spring Street in

Titusville, Pennsylvania, as the ``Edwin L. Drake Post Office

Building''.

H.R. 7507. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 203 East 6th Street in

Lexington, Nebraska, as the ``William E. and Elsie L. Barrett

Post Office Building''.

H.R. 7508. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 1285 Emancipation Highway in

Fredericksburg, Virginia, as the ``Gladys P. Todd Post

Office''.

H.R. 7606. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 1087 Route 47 South in Rio

Grande, New Jersey, as the ``Carlton H. Hand Post Office

Building''.

H.R. 7607. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at Block 1025, Lots 18 & 19,

Northeast Corner of US Route 9 South and Main Street in the

Township of Middle County of Cape May, New Jersey, as the

``George Henry White Post Office Building''.

H.R. 7893. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 306 Pickens Street in

Marion, Alabama, as the ``Albert Turner, Sr. Post Office

Building''.

H.R. 7938. An act to amend the Klamath Basin Water Supply

Enhancement Act of 2000 to provide the Secretary of the

Interior with certain authorities with respect to projects

affecting the Klamath Basin watershed, and for other

purposes.

H.R. 8012. An act to establish the Jackie Robinson Ballpark

National Commemorative Site in the State of Florida, and for

other purposes.

H.R. 8057. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 9317 Bolsa Avenue in

Westminster, California, as the ``Little Saigon Vietnam War

Veterans Memorial Post Office''.

H.R. 8641. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 401 Main Street in Brawley,

California, as the ``Walter Francis Ulloa Memorial Post

Office Building''.

H.R. 8666. An act to amend title 28, United States Code, to

authorize holding court for the Central Division of Utah in

Moab and Monticello.

H.R. 8667. An act to rename the community-based outpatient

clinic of the Department of Veterans Affairs in Cadillac,

Michigan, as the ``Duane E. Dewey VA Clinic''.

H.R. 8717. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 20 West Main Street in

SantaQuin, Utah, as the ``SGT Bill Hooser Post Office

Building''.

H.R. 8841. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 114 Center Street East in

Roseau, Minnesota, as the ``Floyd B. Olson Post Office''.

H.R. 8868. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located 609 Portsmouth Avenue in

Greenland, New Hampshire, as the ``Chief Michael Maloney Post

Office Building''.

H.R. 8909. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 82-6110 Mamalahoa Highway in

Captain Cook, Hawaii, as the ``Army 1st Lt. John Kuulei

Kauhaihao Post Office Building''.

H.R. 8919. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 151 Highway 74 South in

Peachtree City, Georgia, as the ``SFC Shawn McCloskey Post

Office''.

H.R. 8976. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 20 West White Street in

Millstadt, Illinois, as the ``Corporal Matthew A. Wyatt Post

Office''.

H.R. 9076. An act to reauthorize child welfare programs

under part B of title IV of the Social Security Act and

strengthen the State and tribal child support enforcement

program under part D of such title, and for other purposes.

H.R. 9124. An act to name the Department of Veterans

Affairs community-based outpatient clinic in Auburn,

California, as the ``Louis A. Conter VA Clinic''.

H.R. 9285. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 39l3 Leland Avenue Northwest

in Comstock Park, Michigan, as the ``Captain Miguel Justin

Nava Post Office''.

H.R. 9322. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 675 Wolf Ledges Parkway in

Akron, Ohio, as the ``Judge James R. Williams Post Office

Building''.

H.R. 9421. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 108 North Main Street in

Bucoda, Washington, as the ``Mayor Rob Gordon Post Office''.

H.R. 9487. An act to amend the Legislative Reorganization

Act of 1970 to authorize the Legislative Counsel of the House

of Representatives to designate more than one of the

attorneys of the Office of the Legislative Counsel as a

Deputy Legislative Counsel, and for other purposes.

H.R. 9544. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 340 South Loudon Avenue in

Baltimore, Maryland, as the ``United States Representative

Elijah E. Cummings Post Office Building''.

H.R. 9549. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 125 South 1st Avenue in

Hillsboro, Oregon, as the ``Elizabeth Furse Post Office

Building''.

H.R. 9580. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 2777 Brentwood Road in

Raleigh, North Carolina, as the ``Millie Dunn Veasey Post

Office''.

H.R. 9592. An act to amend title 44, United States Code, to

modernize the Federal Register, and for other purposes.

H.R. 9600. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 119 Main Street in Plains,

Georgia, as the ``Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Post Office''.

H.R. 9775. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 119 North Anderson Street in

Elwood, Indiana, as the ``Officer Noah Jacob Shahnavaz Post

Office Building''.

H.R. 10065. An act to designate the facility of the United

States Postal Service located at 802 North Tancahua Street in

Corpus Christi, Texas, as the ``Captain Robert E. `Bob'

Batterson Post Office''.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 7938, as amended.

This long overdue legislation is necessary if the Federal Government is to honor critical commitments it has made to farmers and ranchers in my district in Oregon and Mr. LaMalfa's district in northern California.

For generations, farmers and ranchers receiving water delivered from the Klamath River and Klamath Lake have assumed the risk of weather, skyrocketing costs of production, wildly fluctuating markets, while playing by the rules, conserving more and more water, and continuing to do their best to provide high-quality food for our Nation.

However, over the past 25 years, they have done so under the additional burden of federally mandated drastic reductions in the amount of water they have State certified rights to use. These reductions dictated federally, coupled with increasing drought, threaten farmers' and ranchers' livelihoods, the communities that rely upon them, and ultimately our Nation's food supply.

The reason this legislation is needed now is because earlier this year, the four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River in Oregon and California were dismantled and removed. This leaves operation of instream structures, located upriver from the now removed four hydroelectric dams, at legal risk through no fault or action of or by the farmers.

As context, Mr. Speaker, for over 100 years, there were four hydroelectric facilities on the Klamath River. These facilities were located downstream from the Klamath Reclamation Project diversion structures. The four hydroelectric dams generated low-cost, clean, renewable energy for over a century. Although they were built by a local company, they were eventually acquired by PacifiCorp, a nationally operating investor-owned electrical utility.

In recent years, State and Federal regulators decided they wanted the four lower dams on the Klamath River removed. Regulations and litigation drove the cost of relicensing these dams through the roof, leading their owner, PacifiCorp, to the not-too-surprising conclusion that disposing of rather than relicensing the dams was the best path forward.

Based on this, PacifiCorp agreed the dams could be removed, but only if someone else assumed all legal responsibility and paid for all the work.

In addition, as a condition of allowing the four hydroelectric dams to be removed, PacifiCorp demanded that the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation assume ownership of all remaining water infrastructure previously owned by PacifiCorp, including the Link River and Keno Dams, regardless of their condition, shifting all and whatever liabilities, known and unknown, that might burden them to the Bureau of Reclamation.

In the 15 years before removal of the hydroelectric dams, farmers and ranchers on the Klamath Project were promised that they would not have to bear the cost of retrofitting and updating this upstream infrastructure. This legislation will finally deliver on those promises.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Congressional Record a link to this copy of the 2016 Klamath Power and Facilities Agreement, which reflects some of these promises: https://bentz.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/ bentz.house. gov/files/evo-media-document/OR02Sharp__20241217__150611- compressed.pdf

In addition, Mr. Speaker, H.R. 7938 partially addresses another consequence of the destruction of these dams. The major reason for their removal was to allow salmon, steelhead, and other fish to migrate up rivers and streams to new areas. However, accompanying these returning fish are regulations and regulators anxious to make sure that the fish have appropriate means of passage, but the Klamath Project's irrigation infrastructure was not built or designed to deal with the needs of these species.

Over the past 15 years, irrigators in the Klamath Project have been repeatedly assured that there would not be any significant new regulatory burden or costs imposed upon them associated with removal of the four dams and the resultant arrival of fish, yet here we are.

Fortunately, this legislation would give the Bureau of Reclamation some of the authority and tools needed to keep that promise.

I thank my colleagues, Mr. LaMalfa, Ranking Member Huffman, and the Natural Resources Committee for supporting and working with me on this important bill. I also thank Chair Westerman.

Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote on H.R. 7938.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 7938) to amend the Klamath Basin Water Supply Enhancement Act of 2000 to provide the Secretary of the Interior with certain authorities with respect to projects affecting the Klamath Basin watershed, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 7938, the bill now under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 7938, the Klamath Basin Water Agreement Support Act of 2024.

This legislation, sponsored by Congressman Cliff Bentz, would uphold the commitments made by the Federal Government in the agreements concerning dam removal and species restoration, which are aimed at ensuring farmers are shielded from the adverse effects of these actions.

The Klamath River Basin in southern Oregon and northern California encompasses more than 12,000 square miles with some of the most productive irrigated agriculture in the country.

The basin is partially supported by the Bureau of Reclamation's Klamath Project and is home to six national wildlife refuges, which rely on basin waters to sustain migratory bird habitats and support Native American Tribal fishing grounds. However, this basin has been plagued by decades of disagreement and conflicting agency opinions on how to best conserve the ESA-listed species.

While H.R. 7938 provides the Department of the Interior the authorization to operate and improve infrastructure, it makes clear that Klamath Project irrigators are not responsible for those costs. The bill also enables Reclamation to implement conservation measures for ESA-listed species through fish screens and other restoration projects. This would protect Tribal resources in the basin and avoid additional regulatory burdens on other stakeholders.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Bentz for his diligent leadership on this issue and tireless support of the Klamath Basin. I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Bentz), the lead sponsor of the bill.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 7938 would provide important tools and certainty for both wildlife and people living in the Klamath River Basin. The irrigated lands of the Klamath Project support family farms and ranches, Tribal fishing rights, and the recovery of several ESA- listed fish species. This legislation builds upon vital work being done by these groups.

Mr. Speaker, I again thank my colleague, Mr. Bentz, for his work on the bill. I urge Members to support this commonsense legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam President, I am very pleased my legislation has just passed.

I particularly want to express my thanks to my colleague and friend, my neighbor, Senator Barrasso, and staff John Tanner and others--Jack and Vincent and Kristin and Tori and

Sam--who have been a big help in this effort.

This legislation, by my Republican colleague from eastern Oregon, Congressman Bentz, is a companion bill to my bill, S.482, which would uphold promises made by the Federal Government to farmers and Tribes in the Klamath Basin. The Klamath Basin is the subject of one of the largest river restoration projects in history.

As a result of this work, new habitats are being opened up to recover culturally important fish and wildlife and provide more flexibility for managing water deliveries to farmers in the Klamath Basin. The promise that was made to agricultural communities and agreed to by stakeholders in the Klamath Basin is that they would receive support for the work that must now be completed to avoid conflict, work like putting fish screens on water diversions.

I commend the House for passing this legislation on suspension, and I am really pleased that my colleagues on both sides of the aisle are going to allow us to make sure that we don't lose this critical and timely opportunity to finally live up to a promise made to these local communities nearly a decade ago.

I will close with this. I promised that I would have an open-to-all townhall meeting in every county in my State. I just cleared townhall meeting No. 1,100. That means that 1,100 times, for 90 minutes, we just said we are going to throw open the doors of government and listen to folks. I am not giving any speeches or using any teleprompters or whatever, just letting people share their views.

And it was there that I heard about this idea, this idea that is being advanced now on a bipartisan basis. Congressman Bentz, my colleague from eastern Oregon, myself, my home is in southeast Portland, urban and rural, Democrats and Republicans, coming together to do something that makes a lot of sense.

And I want to also, while I am making these remarks, thank my senatorial colleague Senator Merkley, who is a senior member of the Appropriations Committee. He has been doing so much good work on the Klamath over the years.

The passage of this legislation tonight is a good win for rural Oregon, long overdue.

I yield the floor.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Klamath Basin Water Agreement Support Act, which seeks to resolve stakeholder conflicts regarding water use and fish and wildlife management in the Klamath River Basin.

Since time immemorial, the Klamath River has supported the livelihoods of several tribes in the basin. It continues to play a key role in each of these tribes' cultures, economies, and food sovereignty.

Unfortunately, the construction of dams along the river and changing climate conditions in the basin resulted in devastating consequences for tribes, agriculture, fish and wildlife, and fishing communities as a result of reduced water flows.

Since planning for dam removal in the lower Klamath River started, there have been years of work and negotiations between the tribes and other parties to reach agreement on issues affecting water, fish, and wildlife in the basin.

After the removal of the four lower Klamath Dams, salmon have already begun migrating into previously inaccessible historic salmon spawning habitat. Good for them.

The legislation before us today would build on this historic restoration project by further supporting the commitments made under the Klamath Basin agreements.

I thank the majority for working with us to ensure that Tribal concerns with the introduced language were addressed prior to moving the bill out of committee.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to support the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.