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I
116TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 3937
To redesignate the facility of the Bureau of Reclamation located at Highway-
155, Coulee Dam, WA 99116, as the ‘‘Nathaniel ‘Nat’ Washington
Power Plant’’.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY 24, 2019
Mr. NEWHOUSE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Natural Resources
A BILL
To redesignate the facility of the Bureau of Reclamation
located at Highway-155, Coulee Dam, WA 99116, as
the ‘‘Nathaniel ‘Nat’ Washington Power Plant’’.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
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tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
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Congress finds as follows:
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(1) Both Nathaniel ‘‘Nat’’ Washington, Sr.,
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and his son, Nat, Jr., direct descendants of the fam-
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ily of President George Washington, were pioneers
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for the development of hydropower and strong pro-
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ponents of hydropower’s many benefits for Wash-
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ington State and the Pacific Northwest.
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(2) In 1908, Nat Washington, Sr., left his
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home in Virginia and established a homestead along
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the Columbia River in the area of Grand Coulee,
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Washington. In 1916, he was elected Grant County
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prosecutor.
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(3) As the first president of the Columbia River
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Dam, Irrigation, and Power District, Nat Wash-
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ington, Sr., played a key role in developing the con-
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cept of, and securing the approval for, the construc-
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tion of the Grand Coulee Dam.
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(4) In 1926, Nat Washington, Sr., fell victim to
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the power of the Columbia River when he was swept
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away in the current, losing his life while attempting
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to save his brother James from drowning.
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(5) Nat Washington, Jr., followed in his fa-
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ther’s footsteps by serving as Grant County pros-
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ecutor after earning his law degree at the University
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of Washington, where he was elected student body
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president at the University of Washington as an un-
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dergraduate.
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(6) Nat Washington, Jr., served in the Wash-
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ington State Legislature for 30 years and was in-
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strumental in the development of several hydropower
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•HR 3937 IH
projects across the region, as well as the Columbia
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Basin Project, which utilizes the Grand Coulee Dam
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to supply water for irrigation to 10,000 farms on
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671,000 acres of farmland in the Columbia Basin.
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(7) When the Third Power Plant was completed
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in 1980, Grand Coulee Dam became the largest hy-
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dropower generating facility in the world. With a
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6,809 megawatt generating capacity, supplying an
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average of 21 billion kilowatt hours of electricity to
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11 States and Canada each year, Grand Coulee is
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the largest power station in the nation.
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(8) The vision, advocacy, and public service of
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Nat Washington, Sr., and his son, Nat, Jr., fun-
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damentally transformed the Columbia Basin, Wash-
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ington State, and the entire Pacific Northwest by se-
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curing hydropower—a clean, affordable, and reliable
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source of energy—as the foundation of the region’s
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power system.
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SEC. 2. REDESIGNATION OF FACILITY.
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The facility of the Bureau of Reclamation located at
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Highway-155, Coulee Dam, WA 99116, known as the
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Third Powerplant, shall be known and designated as the
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‘‘Nathaniel ‘Nat’ Washington Power Plant’’.
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SEC. 3. REFERENCES.
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Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document,
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paper or other record of the United States to the facility
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referred to in section 1 shall be deemed to be a reference
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to the Nathaniel ‘‘Nat’’ Washington Power Plant.
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Æ
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