Referred to the Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.
Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Bill text & related measures
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Sep 15, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Explore the bill from different angles
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Neutral evidence review
Objective
Analyze H.R.2073 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
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Fairness and public impact
Progressive lens
Examine H.R.2073 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
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Institutions and government scope
Conservative lens
Examine H.R.2073 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
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Individual rights and government power
Liberty lens
Examine H.R.2073 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.
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PlainBill explanation
Read the proposal in plain language
AI-generated · Source-checked by AI · Nov 7, 2026
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2025-03-11 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
What it would do
This proposal would restrict federal funding for removing or functionally changing four named dams on Washington’s Lower Snake River, including related studies and dam-removal assistance. It would also require approval from both the Secretary of the Army and the Bonneville Power Administration’s Administrator before the Army Corps of Engineers could conduct operations that spill water at those dams.
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No Federal funds may be used to allow, lead to, or study the breach or functional alteration of, including study of power, flood control, or navigation replacement of, or provide dam removal technical assistance for, the Lower Snake River dams.
The Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, may not carry out any spillage operations on any of the Lower Snake River dams unless such operations are approved by the Secretary and the Administrator of the Bonneville Power Administration.
the term Lower Snake River dams means the following dams in the State of Washington, authorized by section 2 of the Act of March 2, 1945 (chapter 19, 59 Stat. 21): (1) Ice Harbor Dam. (2) Lower Monumental Dam. (3) Little Goose Dam. (4) Lower Granite Dam.
The proposed restrictions would apply specifically to Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose and Lower Granite dams in Washington.
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the term Lower Snake River dams means the following dams in the State of Washington, authorized by section 2 of the Act of March 2, 1945 (chapter 19, 59 Stat. 21): (1) Ice Harbor Dam. (2) Lower Monumental Dam. (3) Little Goose Dam. (4) Lower Granite Dam.
The bill would prohibit using federal funds to allow, lead to, or study breaching these dams—creating openings in them—or changing how they function. The prohibition expressly includes studies of replacing their electricity-generation, flood-control or navigation functions, as well as technical assistance for dam removal.
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No Federal funds may be used to allow, lead to, or study the breach or functional alteration of, including study of power, flood control, or navigation replacement of, or provide dam removal technical assistance for, the Lower Snake River dams.
The Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, could conduct operations that spill water at these dams only with approval from both the Secretary and the Bonneville Power Administration’s Administrator.
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The Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, may not carry out any spillage operations on any of the Lower Snake River dams unless such operations are approved by the Secretary and the Administrator of the Bonneville Power Administration.
When deciding whether to approve those operations, both officials would have to consider all Columbia River System operations.
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In determining whether to approve spillage operations under paragraph (1), the Secretary and the Administrator shall consider all Columbia River System operations.
The supplied September 15, 2025 source snapshot records House introduction on March 11, 2025, referrals to the Natural Resources and Transportation and Infrastructure committees and their subcommittees, and subcommittee hearings on September 3, 2025. Hearings are the latest action listed in that snapshot.
Check the sources
Source snapshot updated 2025-09-15T15:56:00Z.
2025-09-03: Subcommittee Hearings Held
2025-08-29: Referred to the Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries.
2025-03-11: Referred to the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.
2025-03-11: Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2025-03-11. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy change attached to appropriations was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version, not other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for particular recipients or places was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish the absence of earmarks in other versions or accompanying materials.
Other targeted benefits
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
None identified in the reviewed text
No narrow carve-out, special exemption or preferential treatment distinct from the bill’s main policy was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version, not other versions or accompanying materials.
What this analysis cannot establish
The supplied full text is the introduced version dated March 11, 2025. Its provisions are proposals, not evidence of enacted law.
The action history ends with the September 15, 2025 snapshot. It does not establish subsequent advancement, amendment or enactment, and missing later actions do not prove that none occurred.
The text does not define “functional alteration” or “spillage operations,” specify approval procedures or enforcement penalties, or state a separate implementation date or termination condition.
The bundle does not include earmark disclosures, member requests, committee reports or conference materials; it cannot establish formal earmark status beyond what the supplied text shows.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Sep 15, 2025. How PlainBill uses AI