June 24, 2019 โ The U.S. House of Representatives has advanced a fiscal 2020 โminibusโ appropriations bill that includes an amendment that could hit the brakes again on efforts to mine for copper and other minerals in close proximity to the Bristol Bay, Alaska, wild-caught salmon fishery.
The legislation, which covers the budgets of the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Defense, State-Foreign Operations, and Energy and Water Development, was passed on Wednesday by a party-line vote of 226-203.
Earlier in the day the House voted, 233-201, to attach an amendment from representative Jared Huffman, a California Democrat, that cuts off funding to the Corps of Engineers to finish the environmental process needed to secure permits for the proposed Pebble Mine. In his argument for the change, Huffman, who is co-chair of the Wild Salmon Caucus, said what Pebble Limited Partnership wants to do near the headwaters of Bristol Bay is unprecedented, Alaska Public Media reported.