On the recordDecember 9, 2024
This bill is really important. The Water Resources Development Act authorizes all the activities of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Mr. Speaker, something that is really key here is that under this chairman we have been able to keep this bill on a 2-year cycle. I thank all of the Republican and Democratic members for keeping this on cycle. That is important because this is about resiliency of our communities. It is about the economy and economic engines that our ports cause. It is about the ecological restoration of places like coastal Louisiana. These are absolutely critical missions. This bill includes a number of priorities in our congressional district, one of the most active Corps of Engineer districts in the Nation, including connecting the Upper Barataria project to the Morganza-to-the-Gulf project, ensuring that credit for Morganza-to-the- Gulf goes all the way back to the 1980s when this project started, rather than penalizing the non-Federal sponsor for the Corps of Engineers' slow action. This project ensures that credit that has developed can actually be utilized on projects or on deferred payment agreements. It ensures that the Larose to Golden Meadow levee system in Lafourche Parish gets back on track to be entering the Federal system. It creates a new parish- wide flood protection system for Livingston Parish, something we have been working on for a while now.…





