Bud Shuster: “I thank the gentleman, and all of my colleagues. At this point I would like to respond to them, and I yield myself such…”

“I thank the gentleman, and all of my colleagues. At this point I would like to respond to them, and I yield myself such time as I may consume. One of the key principles in developing WRRDA was increasing transparency, accountability and congressional oversight without ceding constitutional congressional responsibility to the executive branch. WRRDA authorizes 23 vital water resources projects that have completed the technical review by the Corps of Engineers and have been recommended by the Corps of Engineers. The committee held a full committee hearing to review all the pending Chief's Reports on June 5, 2013. My position has been clear. In order to maintain our constitutional congressional authority, Congress must review the Chief's Reports and specifically authorize them. We cannot hand over our authority to the administration and the Corps of Engineers to self-authorize. Chief's Reports have been finalized on the three reports that the gentleman has questioned and will be reviewed and considered by the committee as we continue to work through WRRDA. To provide strong congressional oversight, I commit to holding a hearing at the appropriate time in the process so that the very important issues are fully considered and have the opportunity to be addressed. With that, I thank the gentlemen for engaging in colloquy, and I reserve the balance of my time. {time} 1530”