Grace Napolitano: “The pending measure was introduced in the Senate on May 16 of this year, 2013, and passed the very same day. While the…”

“The pending measure was introduced in the Senate on May 16 of this year, 2013, and passed the very same day. While the bill is apparently a Senate-revised version of the legislation introduced in February of 2013, no committee hearings or markups were held on either bill. Since 1996, the Army Corps of Engineers has been required to establish restricted areas for hazardous waters upstream and downstream of all Corps dams. As written, S. 982 would revise the current agency policy and would also prohibit the Army Corps of Engineers from establishing any restricted areas in hazardous waters at dams and other structures in the Cumberland River basin for a period of 2 years, and also require them to remove any physical barriers that already exist to prevent access to the hazardous areas. If after the 2-year moratorium, the Corps decided to implement new restricted areas around these dams and other structures, it would continue to be prohibited from erecting any physical barriers to prevent people from entering hazardous areas. Mr. Speaker, I have serious concerns over this legislation because it does pose risks for public safety and national security.…”