On the recordFebruary 18, 2011
My amendment would prevent funding of the U.S. Army Corps' beach replenishment program and projects. Authorized at $91 million for 2011, up almost a billion dollars over the next decade, the Army Corps plans to replenish sand at certain beaches to slow the course of erosion. First and foremost, this is not a proper constitutional function for the Federal Government. Each beach community, along with their local government, should decide how they will best approach erosion. As the primary beneficiaries, they can best decide their needs and financial priorities. The top-down system currently employed comes from a flawed mindset, a mindset that we must address if we hope to escape our spending crisis, a mindset that the Federal Government does everything for everybody. This is simply Federal spending that we cannot afford and Federal control that we don't need. I ask that my colleagues support my amendment to defund this now and work with me to strip this and other similar projects from future budgets as well.
