Bentz gets plum subcommittee assignment

By Terry Murry on Thursday, February 18th, 2021 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz (R-Ontario) may be a freshman lawmaker, but he’s been named the ranking Republican on the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife. Bentz said he’s honored to serve as the leading GOP member of the group and have a voice for Oregon on water-related issues.

“These issues are huge, whether it’s the Columbia to the north and the proposal to take out the four lower Snake River dams, or it’s down on the Klamath in the south, or whether it’s all points in between,” Bentz said.

Bentz said the subcommittee will be vital to the future which will rely heavily on water storage.

“We need to have more water not only for the farmers and ranchers, but for the fish and you’re not going to get it unless you store it, and we’re going to have to start doing more of that as we see less snow and more rain,” Bentz said.