Sen. Murray Celebrates Securing $190M for Howard Hanson Dam, Undoing Trump’s Army Corps Takeover

Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, held a press conference just downstream of the Howard Hanson Dam to celebrate the $190 million she secured this month for a critical water storage and fish passage project at Howard Hanson Dam that will reduce flood risk, address fish passage, and ensure long-term water reliability for over one million people in the region, including in Tacoma and Covington. Senator Murray secured the funding in the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill for fiscal year 2026 she negotiated—the legislation passed through the Senate on Thursday after passing the House, and is expected to soon be signed into law.

Last year, the Trump administration zeroed out funding for the Howard Hanson Dam and stripped Army Corps construction dollars from blue states including Washington, directing these funds to red states instead—an outrageous abuse of power made possible by a Republican slush-fund continuing resolution that handed even more authority to Trump and his Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought. Senator Murray—who fought hard to prevent the Republican bill from passing in the first place—sounded the alarm, calling out the Trump administration’s “corrupt BS” and making the case to her Republican colleagues that Congress must work together to prevent this from happening again. This month, Senator Murray secured passage of bipartisan funding bills she negotiated as the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee that boost Army Corps funding, prevent Trump from corruptly messing with Army Corps projects like he did last year, and deliver crucial funding for Howard Hanson Dam and other important Army Corps projects across Washington state.

Specifically, Senator Murray secured in the bill $190 million in Congressionally Directed Spending for construction at Howard Hanson Dam, alongside language in the bill that will allow the Army Corps of Engineers to incrementally fund the Howard Hanson Dam project by modifying the existing design and construction contract within 60 days of this bill’s enactment. While the project originally needed $500 million to move forward with construction, this language allows the Corps to get the Howard Hanson Dam project back on track with this award. Overall, Senator Murray secured $412.5 million for Army Corps of Engineers projects and $80.955 million for Bureau of Reclamation projects across Washington state in the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill for fiscal year 2026.