Senator Murray has been raising the alarm on Trump administration’s plans to slash critical funding for salmon recovery efforts
***PHOTOS, B-ROLL HERE**
Lyle, WA — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, visited Klickitat Falls to observe Yakama Nation members dipnet fishing on the Klickitat River and meet with Tribal leaders and members. Senator Murray spoke with Chairman Gerald Lewis others about the importance of salmon recovery efforts in the Columbia and Snake Rivers, as well as forestry management and other issues. Forest management and wildfire prevention in particular have become a major cause for concern for the Yakama Nation in recent weeks, as the Trump administration’s federal funding cuts and freezes directly affect their ability to manage their lands or respond to fires on adjoining federal lands.
Senator Murray has also been raising the alarm and demanding answers on the Trump administration’s plans to shutter the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) office in Toppenish, which the Yakama Nation relies on for everything from timber sales to Indian Child Welfare Act cases.
“It was a real honor to visit with the Yakama Nation today and observe dipnet fishing, a practice handed down over generations,” said Senator Murray. “The Yakama Nation have been stewards of this land since time immemorial, and I’m proud to be their partner at the federal level in fighting to save our salmon, manage our forests responsibly, and make progress on so many other issues. Over the past few years, we’ve made historic investments in salmon recovery through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act—but now the Trump administration’s reckless cuts and illegal funding freezes are putting that progress at risk.”
“I’ve spoken with many Tribes, including the Yakama Nation, who are already seeing the consequences of the Trump administration’s mass firings and hiring freezes at important federal agencies they rely on—and that were already painfully understaffed. There’s no way around it—Trump’s gutting of the federal workforce and deep funding cuts will seriously hamper the administration of programs and services that Tribes rely on, and that the federal government has trust and treaty obligations to provide,” Murray continued. “I take seriously my responsibility to be a voice for our Tribes in the U.S. Senate—and I’ll continue using every tool at my disposal in Congress to fight back and hold this administration accountable.”
As a voice in the U.S. Senate for Washington state’s Tribal governments and communities, Senator Murray has long worked to make sure our nation lives up to its promises to support Tribal infrastructure, health care, education, housing, natural resources management, and more. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Senator Murray was instrumental in passing as then-Assistant Majority Leader provided more than $13 billion to directly support Tribal communities and makes Tribes eligible to apply for or request billions in discretionary, formula, and other funding to deploy record investments to provide affordable high-speed internet, safer roads and bridges, modern wastewater and sanitation systems, clean drinking water, reliable and affordable electricity, and good paying jobs in every Tribal community. In total, this funding represents the single largest investment in Tribal infrastructure ever.
Senator Murray has also been a champion for protecting and strengthening critical salmon and fish populations throughout her time in the Senate. Senator Murray secured a historic $2.85 billion investment in salmon and ecosystem restoration programs—including $400 million for a new community-based restoration program focused on removing fish passage barriers in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law—and in the Inflation Reduction Act, Murray secured hundreds of millions for Washington state priorities including $15 million for the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund, $3 million to support facilities at the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, $27 million for Pacific salmon research, and more. Last Congress, as then-Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Murray protected critical funding for salmon recovery and fishery projects in the Fiscal Year 2024 government spending bills she negotiated and passed into law, including securing: $50 million in the construction of the Howard Hanson Dam Fish Passage facility; $75 million for the Pacific Salmon account at the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), $65 million for the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund, $54 million for the EPA’s Puget Sound Geographic Program, and more.
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