Pacific Northwest Congress Members Demand Action on Columbia River Treaty (Politico)

(WASHINGTON, DC) -- The U-S State Department has been sitting on a key document related to updating the Columbia River Treaty for months, and a bipartisan group of 17 members of the Pacific northwest's Senate and House delegations want the department to get a move on. The treaty governs dams and flows along the upper Columbia River Basin, which touches British Columbia in Canada and Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. The two sides are looking at renegotiating some of the treaty's terms. In a letter sent to Secretary of State John Kerry, the Congressional delegation demanded that State approve a key negotiating document and press Canada to name a lead negotiator. The letter was led by Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell and includes signatures from Republicans like Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the party conference chairman.