{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/in-the-news/klamath-bills-pass-senate-committee", "Klamath bills pass Senate committee", "2014-11-14", "2014", "2014-11", "Democrat", "House", "OR", "Jeff Merkley", "M001176", "www.merkley.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Klamath bills pass Senate committee \r\n\r\n     Water pact, forestry act take a step forward \r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nFriday, November 14, 2014\r\n\r\n\t\n\r\n\r\n\r\n  \r\n    By:\u00a0\r\n    Lacey Jarrell\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nA settlement aimed at solving decades-old water conflicts in the Klamath Basin moved one step closer to becoming a reality Thursday.\r\nThe Klamath Water Recovery and Economic Restoration Act, Senate Bill 2379, passed through the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. The vote was 17-5.\r\n\r\nOfficials hope the bill, which encompasses the Klamath Basin Restoration Act and Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement, and the Upper Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement, will be approved by Congress before the legislative session ends in late December.\r\n\r\n\r\n\u201cI\u2019m delighted that it came out of the committee,\u201d said Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore. \u201cTo have the support of all the Democrats and five of the Republicans is a very strong bipartisan vote on a very complicated natural resource issue.\u201d\r\n\r\n\r\nThe bill will have to pass the Republican-controlled House before it reaches the President\u2019s desk.\r\n\r\n\r\nSB 2379 authorizes the implementation of the three Klamath Basin water agreements, which strive to produce collaborative solutions for Klamath Basin water management.\r\n\r\n\r\nThe legislation is a cooperative water plan to protect fish and wildlife, while providing predictable water amounts to farmers and ranchers, according to Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden, who sponsored the bill.\r\n\r\n\r\n\u201cI think it is going to be a model for how to deal with contentious water issues around the country. It has been done with a direct spending score of zero, and it has been done with bipartisan support,\u201d Wyden said.\r\n\r\n\r\nKlamath Tribes Chairman Don Gentry said the committee\u2019s action is a positive step in efforts to move the legislation forward.\r\n\r\n\r\n\u201cIt\u2019s wonderful that it was such a show of bipartisan support,\u201d Gentry said.\r\n\r\n\r\nMatt Vickery, deputy director of the Klamath Water Users Association, said he is pleased that committee members recognized the Basin\u2019s urgent water issues.\r\n\r\n\r\n\u201cWe\u2019re very encouraged by the committee\u2019s response and anxious for the rest of the legislative process,\u201d Vickery said.\r\n\r\n\r\nLisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said she is committed to finding the $500 million in funding the bill requires over the next 10 years.\r\n\r\n\r\n\u201cFinding an extra $50 million a year is going to be hard,\u201d Murkowski said.\r\n\r\n\r\nSen. Jeff Flake noted that the Hoopa Valley tribe of Northern California and members of the Intertribal Council of Arizona oppose the bill.\r\n\r\n\r\nMerkley said with so little time left in this legislative session, he doesn\u2019t believe the SB 2379 can pass the Senate as a standalone bill.\r\n\r\n\r\n\u201cMy hope is we can get this into some other bill that\u2019s moving in the final months of this legislature, get it in partnership with the House and get it to the president\u2019s desk,\u201d he said.\r\n\r\n\r\n\u201cBoth Sen. Wyden and I are going to do everything in our power to try to create that moment. We have to get it done.\u201d\r\n\r\n\r\n \r\n           \r\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tPrint\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tEmail\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t  \n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTweet", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "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://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/in-the-news/klamath-bills-pass-senate-committee"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.2471400443464518, "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"}