; Whereas on September 13, 2023, members of Congress sent a letter to the Council on Environmental Quality expressing concerns with the mediation discussions resulting from NWF v. NMFS and urging the Council to utilize the remainder of the stay on the litigation to productively engage with all the parties in the mediation process; Whereas on September 27, 2023, the Biden administration released a memorandum titled Restoring Health and Abundant Salmon, Steelhead, and Other Native Fish Populations in the Columbia River Basin (88 Fed. Reg. 67617), outlining a plan for fish migration in the Columbia River Basin; Whereas on December 14, 2023, as a product the mediation discussions resulting from NWF v. NMFS, the Biden administration entered into a memorandum of understanding with Washington, Oregon, the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, the Nez Perce Tribe, the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, the Institute for Fisheries Resources, the Sierra Club, Idaho Rivers United, the Northwest Sport Fishing Industry Association, the NW Energy Coalition, the National Wildlife Federation, Columbia Riverkeeper, the Idaho Conservation League, and Fly Fishers International to implement the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative; Whereas throughout the mediation discussions resulting from NWF v. NMFS, key stakeholders and community members directly impacted by the litigation were left in the dark as negotiations proceeded behind closed doors; Whereas the Biden administration and dam-breaching advocates are intent on achieving a de facto breach of the 4 Lower Snake River dams by opening the gates to reduce the water below the minimum operating levels for hydroelectric power generation; Whereas the decision to breach the 4 Lower Snake River dams ultimately lies with Congress, which must authorize the matter, not the Biden administration