Earl Blumenauer: “today, we begin debate on the Water Resources Development Act, a serious effort by the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr.…”

“today, we begin debate on the Water Resources Development Act, a serious effort by the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Duncan) to start fixing a seriously broken system with almost $60 billion in construction backlog which includes projects which range from the good to the bad to the ugly and the obsolete. Since the corps is overwhelmed with projects and labors under outmoded principles and guidelines which Congress and the corps have not updated in over 20 years, the process is inherently, intensely political. The poster child for that is the upper Mississippi lock project, the most expensive navigation project in history, the dinosaur of these projects. An inspector general found that the Corps cooked the books and fired somebody trying to do his job telling the truth. The Blumenauer-Flake amendment will provide a safety valve to ensure that the project will not go forward unless it is economically justified, and will speed the long overdue process of reforming the operation of the Army Corps of Engineers so it can be about the important water resources projects our country needs. ____________________”