Jerry Moran: “the amendment I am offering today was one I discussed in the agricultural appropriations subcommittee. I am a Member of…”

“the amendment I am offering today was one I discussed in the agricultural appropriations subcommittee. I am a Member of that subcommittee and am very interested in the topic of the appropriations for the Department of Agriculture. This amendment would transfer $8 million from the Department's administrative account to the Watershed Rehabilitation Program. The Watershed Rehabilitation Program is a bit broader than this, but basically what we are talking about are PL-566 watershed structures. Across our country, more than 1,000 structures have been built over a long period of time. Many of them are up to 50 years old. These structures are built for purposes of flood control, for nutrient management, for conservation, wildlife habitat, for recreation. Clearly, these structures have been an important component of the economy and well-being of communities and people across America for a long time. In fact, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service of the Department of Agriculture, these PL-566 structures provide agricultural benefits at their estimate of $404 million. These benefits are things such as erosion control, animal waste management, water conservation, water quality improvement, irrigation efficiency, changes in land use--things such as that. There are also nonagricultural benefits which the NRCS estimates at $877 million in benefits.…”