Political Quotes

“I am going to go back and say what I said before. In previous projects that I have worked with in the United States Army Corps of Engineers, we have been able to save Federal taxpayers tens of millions of dollars, cumulatively hundreds of millions of dollars by carrying out the projects through the non- Federal sponsor, allowing for county governments, parish governments, State governments, levee districts, water boards, and others to carry out projects. If we are able to demonstrate greater efficiency and taxpayer cost savings, why would we not allow for that mechanism to carry out these projects? It expedites delivery of projects. These are critical projects. Mr. Chairman, I want to reiterate, in the State of Louisiana, in the flood we just had last month, we had 13 people die because of a project that has been in the Corps of Engineers process for 30 years; 30 years, Mr. Chairman. I really wonder what someone who would oppose this amendment would tell the families of those people who died as a result of the Corps' inaction. This is absolutely inappropriate. We have a way to save taxpayer dollars, to reduce the deficit, and to free up more resources for high-priority Corps of Engineers projects and make our communities and our ecosystem more resilient. Mr. Chairman, I urge adoption of the amendment. I yield back the balance of my time. The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Graves).…”