Garret Graves

This amendment intends to cut through the bureaucracy to expedite decisions that are being made. In the case of this amendment, it is designed to address an issue in Texas where you have high-volume port projects and there are safety and…

I want to thank the gentlewoman for offering this amendment that requires a study for the use of noise abatement technologies at ports. I think this is a good amendment, and I urge adoption of the amendment. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the…

This amendment assures the Corps of Engineers can help mitigate any detrimental impacts to the water supply as a result of a Corps of Engineers project. I appreciate my colleague's work on this, and I do accept this amendment and urge…

I claim the time in opposition, but I don't plan to oppose the amendment. The Acting CHAIR. Without objection, the gentleman from Louisiana is recognized for 5 minutes. There was no objection.

This amendment seeks to provide better information to the Congress, to Federal agencies, and to public entities all over the United States to ensure that we understand the value of investments that we are making, to ensure that we…

I claim the time in opposition to the amendment, although I am not opposed to it. The Acting CHAIR. Without objection, the gentleman is recognized for 5 minutes. There was no objection.

When other militaries challenge the United States' military might, we invest more dollars, just like we did a few months ago in our military. When the Panama Canal was widened and deepened, we invested more dollars in our ports so we would…

I have an amendment at the desk. The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment. The text of the amendment is as follows: At the end of title VI, insert the following: SEC. 6__ FLOOD INSURANCE. Section 406(d)(1) of the Robert T…

I want to commend you for that. That is a huge deal.

I would argue that a grant and a loan are two very different instruments that do not duplicate one another.

We do need to identify these problems because it certainly is going to continue to be problematic to other disaster victims.

To date, the Subcommittee has provided approximately $1.7 billion to the State of Louisiana and community development, block grant, disaster recovery funds.

When you take a step back and look, since 1980 we have had somewhere around 220, 230 disasters in this country that have cost over $1 billion.

It wouldn't have been possible, though, without your help and the President's help and certainly the contractors.

I want to thank you for your swift response and for your many visits you have made to our State as well.

And sometimes government gets in the way of that.

And that is really what community is all about.

If this is an unsustainable area, why are we proposing that dollars be extracted from this area and sent to other places?

We have lost 2,000 square miles of our coast--2,000 square miles.

I represent the state of Louisiana, where we produce 80 to 90 percent of all the offshore energy in Federal waters in the United States.

I want to thank you all for being here today. I want to make sure I understand the background or impetus for this hearing and the legislative proposal.

You have a servant's heart, and we know that.

These projects aren't luxuries. These projects, in many cases, mean life or death.

I think the ratio of getting $1 to $2 billion in construction for a $100 billion program is ridiculous.

The timeline for our water resource projects are completely unacceptable.