Title: 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.
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
This resolution expresses the sense of Congress that the commercial and power coordination provisions of the Columbia River Treaty between the United States and Canada be terminated. The Columbia River Treaty is an agreement between the United States and Canada with respect to the operation of dams in the upper Columbia River basin.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 126 Introduced in House (IH)]

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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 intent 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
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
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That it is 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.
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