Garret Graves: “I thank the gentleman from Tennessee for yielding me time. This legislation funds the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It…”

“I thank the gentleman from Tennessee for yielding me time. This legislation funds the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It funds efforts like resiliency in my home State of Louisiana. It funds hurricane protection. It funds flood control. It floods cultural restoration projects. One project in particular I thank the chairman for highlighting that is included in this legislation is the Morganza to the Gulf project. This hurricane protection project in Terrebonne and Lafourche Parishes is for a community that has imposed a property tax on themselves. It has imposed a sales tax on themselves to help fund this project. They pulled together over $1 billion in funds, and this bill finally starts bringing more dollars to the table, partnering with the locals to ensure that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers can fund this community, can fund this important project. Here is the reality, Mr. Chairman: We can either spend millions now building this project, or we can spend billions later picking up the pieces in the aftermath of a disaster, in the aftermath of a hurricane. This bill also, importantly, funds projects like the Upper Barataria project in Upper St. Charles and Lafourche Parishes on up to Ascension. It funds the Houma navigation channel and other critical projects for our community. It also funds the nuclear triad. As President Reagan said, peace through strength ensures that we have the strength here in America.…”