Today Congressmen Jim McDermott (D-WA) and Tom Petri (R- WI), along with 23 other cosponsors from across the country, introduced the Salmon Solutions and Planning Act, H.R. 3503. The bill addresses the decline of Columbia and Snake River salmon by calling for several important studies by the National Academy of Sciences, the Department of Energy, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Interior, and the Army Corps of Engineers.

Over the last two decades, the federal government has spent more than $8 billion on efforts that have failed to restore salmon to the Columbia and Snake Rivers. This important planning legislation will help save billions of taxpayer dollars by ensuring that the best available science and economics are used to recover salmon in the basin.

Reps. McDermott and Petri were joined by the following cosponsors:
Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA), Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA), Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Rep. Sam Farr (D-CA), Rep. Bart Gordon (D-TN), Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), Rep. Michael Honda (D-CA), Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI), Rep. Dale Kildee (D-MI), Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA), Rep. George Miller (D-CA), Rep. James Moran (D-VA), Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Rep. Eleanor Norton (D-DC), Rep. John Olver (D-MA), Rep. Donald Payne (D-NJ), Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA), Rep. Robert Wexler (D-FL)

For additional information:

See the press release on the bill here.

See the text of the bill here.