Steve Lynch: “I would just like to raise an issue here with the amount of money in this bill that we are appropriating for the U.S.…”

“I would just like to raise an issue here with the amount of money in this bill that we are appropriating for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers construction account. I have heard several of my colleagues here speak earlier on individual projects in their districts that affect their constituencies, and I am totally in agreement with that on both sides of the aisle. But I do want to acknowledge the priority that should be recognized in this bill, and that is recognizing the impacts of these large coastal storms. I happen to represent the port of Boston and the community south of Boston along the south shore; a beautiful area that has a great number of towns with great history there. While they were not affected to the degree that New York and New Jersey were during Hurricane Sandy--Superstorm Sandy--a lot of their infrastructure was damaged to the point of near collapse. So there is a great need for seawall reconstruction. They withstood that impact. They did the job that they were intended to do at the time that they were constructed. But I feel that this bill in its current form continues to undermine the ability of the Army Corps of Engineers to keep pace with the needed maintenance and reconstruction of our infrastructure. I just want to call to mind the whole initiative here and what our priorities should be. We are, in many cases across the country, the beneficiaries of people who came before us and made the necessary investments in infrastructure.…”