Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I rise today to engage the chairman of the Appropriations Committee in a brief colloquy regarding funding for the Corps of Engineers. I was pleased to see the criteria in the explanatory statement for the Energy and Water portion of the omnibus bill, which clearly states that there are additional funds available to support flood control studies, particularly those that lead to significant economic benefits by avoiding damages caused by flooding. Local communities often are left with economic development plans that may not move forward when these flood control projects face significant delays due to a lack of funding. It appears that the committee intends that the Corps support flood control project studies that are nearing completion and have local funding available for match. Is that correct, and will the Corps consider economic impacts in its decisionmaking? I yield to the chairman.”