{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://bynum.house.gov/media/press-releases/bynum-introduces-bipartisan-bill-reduce-barriers-key-environmental-projects", "Bynum Introduces Bipartisan Bill to Reduce Barriers for Key Environmental Projects", "2025-11-21", "2025", "2025-11", "Democrat", "House", "OR", "Janelle S. Bynum", "B001326", "bynum.house.gov", "bynum", "https://bynum.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Today, Congresswoman Janelle Bynum (OR-05), Congressman Troy Downing (MT-02), Congresswoman Marie Glusenkamp-Perez (WA-03), and Congressman Bryan Steil (WI-01)introduced the Floodplain Enhancement and Recovery Act, a bipartisan, bicameral bill to reduce barriers for certain key projects in floodplains. Specifically, the bill creates a streamlined path for environmental restoration projects in regulated floodplains that meet specific low-risk criteria while upholding flood safety standards. The Senate version of this legislation was introduced by Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Steve Daines (R-MT).\n\nUnder the current Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) policy, any proposed projects in a regulated floodplain must abide by the \u201cNo Rise\u201d rule, proving that they will not increase the base flood elevation (BFE) of the area. While this rule protects communities from increased flood risks, it also can have major unintended consequences, including higher costs and slower project completion times for essential environmental restoration projects.\n\nThis bipartisan, bicameral bill would create a new pathway to exempt certain environmental restoration projects in regulated floodplains from having to demonstrate no net impact on base flood elevation.\n\n\u201cEnvironmental restoration projects across Oregon \u2013 and the country \u2013 are being held up by unnecessary red tape when they don\u2019t need to be,\u201d said Rep. Bynum. \u201cIt\u2019s resulting in canceled projects and costing our communities thousands of dollars. I\u2019m thankful to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for partnering with me on this important legislation that will protect our communities, restore our environment, and remove barriers to progress.\u201d\n\n\u201cFEMA\u2019s No-Rise Rule is a hamstring on conservation efforts across the state of Montana and across the country,\u201d said Rep. Downing. \u201cMy bipartisan legislation cuts this burdensome red tape, empowering locally supported conservation and restoration projects. I appreciate the support of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for joining me in this common sense measure to right size regulation for American conservation.\u201d\n\nThis legislation is endorsed by the American Rivers Action Fund, the Wild Salmon Center, and the Nature Conservancy.\n\n\u201cFloodplains are among our nation\u2019s most valuable natural assets to cost-effectively bolster community safety, improve water quality, and sustain biodiversity at a large scale. By removing complex permitting for restoration, this bipartisan bill takes a practical approach to remove those barriers and help people and nature thrive,\u201d said Eileen Shader, Senior Advisor for American Rivers Action Fund. \u201cWe are thrilled to see this common-sense solution introduced in the House and will advocate strongly for its ultimate passage.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe greatly appreciate Representatives Bynum, Downing, Gluesenkamp Perez and Steil's efforts to accelerate the permitting of low-risk habitat restoration projects in low-risk areas through the Floodplain Enhancement and Recovery Act,\u201d said Guido Rahr, President & CEO of the Wild Salmon Center. \u201cWild salmon are at a critical juncture on the road to recovery across their range, and this change will help the Wild Salmon Center and our partners to increase our habitat restoration efforts to meet the needs of salmon right now.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere are many benefits to having intact natural floodplains. One of them is that they lower the risks associated with flooding. That is one of the main reasons why The Nature Conservancy supports policies, like this one from Representatives Downing and Bynum, that help scale up work to restore floodplains,\u201d said Cameron Adams, Policy Advisor for The Nature Conservancy. \u201cThis bipartisan legislation would give communities the flexibility they want and need to do science-backed ecosystem restoration projects in flood zones. These types of projects don\u2019t just benefit people, but also plants and animals that thrive in healthy landscapes.\u201d\n\n\u201cSimplified regulatory approval for critical floodplain restoration projects as a result of the Floodplain Enhancement and Recovery Act will benefit the Deschutes Land Trust by reducing project timelines and costs associated with project planning on our preserves,\" said Rika Ayotte, Executive Director of the Deschutes Land Trust.\n\nYou can read the full text of the bill here.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:52:45Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://bynum.house.gov/media/press-releases/bynum-introduces-bipartisan-bill-reduce-barriers-key-environmental-projects"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7570246234536171, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}