Political Quotes

“I thank the senior Senator from Minnesota for her hard work in getting Michael Connor to the floor. I have been very pleased to join with her, and, obviously, we are hopeful that, tomorrow, we will have that vote. The position of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works is critical to every Member of this body. Every State has interactions with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Assistant Secretary is the top civilian who oversees the Corps of Engineers. The Assistant Secretary plays a vital role in formulating the Corps' budget, in setting policy and priorities for the Corps, and in ensuring that an incredible array of projects is managed and executed across the Nation. For example, in my State of North Dakota, we have Corps projects in communities like Minot on flood protection. A number of years ago, we had 11,000 people and 4,000 homes and buildings inundated. Obviously, flood protection is incredibly vital for them, and we need the Corps working to get that done. In the Red River Valley of the North, as Senator Klobuchar said so accurately, we are working together for comprehensive flood protection in that region. It is a multibillion-dollar, multi-State project that uses the latest approach of a public-private partnership with a WIFIA loan guarantee. We are doing things in a way that hasn't been done before that can really help us cut into the backlog that the Corps has on these flood projects.…”