Jeff Fortenberry: “First, let me thank Chairman Visclosky for the time and for his efforts here, as well as the gentleman from South…”

“First, let me thank Chairman Visclosky for the time and for his efforts here, as well as the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Cunningham), for offering this very important amendment to the bill. Madam Chair, it is pretty jarring when you stand in your district at a major piece of America's military infrastructure, Offutt Air Force Base, and it is a third underwater. Offutt Air Force Base is also home to Strategic Command, which is the command that is in charge of our nuclear enterprise here and around the world. In March of this year, a furious slurry of soil and water and ice rushed down the Platte and Elkhorn Rivers. It crossed over the Missouri, hit the Iowa levee, blew it out, dug a 62-foot hole, and then water began to come back up the Missouri River. Offutt Air Force Base sits at the confluence of the Platte and Missouri Rivers, and this is what forced the flooding. I am very grateful, again, to my colleagues for recognizing that this is a disaster that needs national attention, along with the other natural disasters that have hit our country, particularly Tyndall Air Force Base, as well. This amendment provides the funds to the Air Force operations and maintenance accounts to rebuild essential military infrastructure in my district and around the country. It will help us rebuild hangars and other buildings at Offutt, and this is in dire need.…”