IV 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 126 

Expressing the sense of the Congress that the President should direct the 

Secretary of State to immediately issue a notice of intent to terminate 

the commercial and power coordination provisions of the Columbia River 

Treaty between the United States and Canada. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 9, 2020 

Mr. NEWHOUSE (for himself, Mr. SCHRADER, and Mr. WALDEN) submitted 

the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee 

on Foreign Affairs 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the Congress that the President 

should direct the Secretary of State to immediately issue 

a notice of intent to terminate the commercial and power 

coordination provisions of the Columbia River Treaty 

between the United States and Canada. 

Whereas the U.S. Entity Regional Recommendation for the 

Future of the Columbia River Treaty after 2024 was 

issued in December 2013 calling for the prompt renegotiation of the Columbia River Treaty between the United 

States and Canada; 

Whereas Article XIX of the Columbia River Treaty allows the 

United States to issue a 10-year advance notice of its inVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:58 Dec 10, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HC126.IH HC126

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•HCON 126 IH 

tent to terminate the commercial and power coordination 

provisions of the Treaty; 

Whereas the first opportunity for the United States to issue 

a termination notice was in 2014; 

Whereas the U.S. Entity Regional Recommendation for the 

Future of the Columbia River Treaty after 2024 called 

upon the United States to pursue ‘‘other options’’ absent 

a renegotiated Treaty by 2015; 

Whereas the United States and Canada did not commence 

negotiations to modernize the Columbia River Treaty 

until 2018; 

Whereas the United States and Canada have conducted 10 

rounds of Columbia River Treaty negotiations since early 

2018, including only two negotiating sessions in 2020; 

Whereas the Columbia River Treaty requires that Northwest 

electric ratepayers in the States of Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington annually send between $150 and 

$250 million of clean, renewable United States hydropower north to British Columbia; 

Whereas in return, Canada provides the United States with 

a hydropower operation that creates less than $15 million 

in value; 

Whereas the United States Government’s failure to issue the 

termination notice in 2014, pursuant to Article XIX of 

the Columbia River Treaty, has cost Northwest electric 

ratepayers approximately $1 billion to date, a figure that 

grows each day; 

Whereas the notice of intent to terminate the commercial and 

power coordination provisions under Article XIX of the 

Columbia River Treaty does not impact the Treaty’s 

flood control provisions; and 


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•HCON 126 IH 

Whereas the issuance of the notice of intent to terminate the 

commercial and power coordination provisions initiates a 

10-year period for the United States and Canada to negotiate a modernized Treaty equitable to both countries 

before any changes to the current Treaty enter into force: 

Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 

2 concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that the 

3 President should direct the Secretary of State to imme4 diately issue a notice of intent to terminate the commercial 

5 and power coordination provisions of the Columbia River 

6 Treaty between the United States and Canada. 

Æ 


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