On the recordMay 25, 2016
In May of 2011, under the strong objections of numerous folks in southeast Missouri and my predecessor, the Army Corps of Engineers activated the Birds Point levee, which is the second time since 1937. This resulted in an extensive amount of damage: over $156 million worth of damage and flooding of over 130,000 acres. In that place, homes and communities were completely destroyed and crops were lost. After the water receded, many residents simply chose not to ever return home and back to their community. These are individuals that lived there for numerous generations. One community, a small town called Pinhook in Mississippi County, right in the boot heel, that no longer exists after the activation of that floodway. The amendment that I have today is quite simple, Mr. Chairman. It says, when an activation of the Birds Point levee occurs, we must build it back. Not anything else other than if there is an activation, the government must build it back. If they destroy a community by activating and blowing up a levee, they must build it back. The amendment is extremely simple. Had families in the Birds Point floodway had the assurance that a plan was already in place, perhaps they would have chosen to return back to their home for generations. When river levels rise, safety is always the number one concern.…
