Henry Cuellar: “I thank Chairman DeFazio and Ranking Member Graves and their staff for the wonderful work that they did for putting this…”

“I thank Chairman DeFazio and Ranking Member Graves and their staff for the wonderful work that they did for putting this bipartisan bill together, and also Chairwoman Grace Napolitano. Mr. Speaker, for the last 14 years, I have been working in Congress to advocate for the full authorized funding of Laredo, Texas' Chacon Creek Restoration Project. The Army Corps now, once we get this done, can carry out the flood risk management and ecosystem project totaling about $52 million. The flood mitigation component will evacuate 250 homes from the floodplain, from Lake Casa Blanca all the way down to the Rio Grande along the Chacon Creek. This ecosystem restoration component will also include 417 acres of wetland and riparian restoration. This is a natural treasure that we have in Laredo, Texas, and it will provide hundreds of acres of new recreational and educational parklands. Mr. Speaker, the Chacon Creek is a tremendous natural resource in Laredo, and I thank the ranking member and committee staff for doing this great work.”