Rod Blum: “That I am speaking on the floor of the U.S. House is remarkable timing. The city of Cedar Rapids, the largest city in my…”

“That I am speaking on the floor of the U.S. House is remarkable timing. The city of Cedar Rapids, the largest city in my district, is currently experiencing major flooding of the Cedar River, cresting 11 feet above flood stage today. In 2008, just 8 short years ago, the same river crested at over 19 feet above flood stage. Yes, you heard that correctly, 19 feet above flood stage. I was in Cedar Rapids this weekend sandbagging alongside volunteers to prepare for this disaster and saw firsthand the amazing response from the community as thousands of eastern Iowans came together to protect their city. I want to thank Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett and his team for their tireless work to prepare the city for the flooding, as well as the administration of Governor Branstad for their assistance. Today's flooding further underscores the need for the administration to include the Cedar Rapids flood project in their budget. This project was approved by Congress in the 2014 WRRDA bill, and my amendment today calls on the administration to expedite this project. Cedar Rapids has spent untold millions of dollars on this disaster--money spent on a short-term solution--while the city waits for the administration to release the approved funding for the long-term fix.…”