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Newhouse Praises Senate Passage of Legislation Authorizing Phase III of Yakima Basin Integrated Plan

February 12, 2019

Newhouse congratulates Senator Cantwell for securing Yakima Basin provisions and promises to continue bipartisan effort in House

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) and Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) released the following statements after the U.S. Senate approved a bipartisan lands package authored by Senator Cantwell and Senator Lisa Murkowsi (R-AK). The Senate-approved package includes legislation to authorize Phase III of the Yakima River Basin Integrated Water Resource Management Plan, an initiative to better accommodate the water needs of the agricultural community, conservationists, residents, and other stakeholders in the Yakima River Basin region. Last week, Rep. Newhouse introduced bipartisan House legislation, H.R. 1048, the Yakima River Basin Water Enhancement Project Phase III Act, with Rep. Kim Schrier (D-WA), to show bicameral support for authorizing the Yakima Basin Project.

"I congratulate Senator Cantwell on securing Senate passage of the bipartisan lands package that includes the legislation we worked on to authorize the next phase of the Yakima Basin Integrated Plan," said Rep. Newhouse. "I will continue to work across party lines to support House passage and send this bill to President Trump to sign into law."

"Water issues are not going to go away. We need to we give communities across the West the tools to deal with the changing climate and the impacts of less and less water," said Cantwell. "Passing this bill represents important new tools to fight our water challenges and to move forward in a way that I think will prove to be an example of what we should be doing in other parts of the United States."