Lloyd Bentsen: “Earlier this year the Clinton administration and the Army Corps of Engineers proposed a phase-out of Federal funding for…”

“Earlier this year the Clinton administration and the Army Corps of Engineers proposed a phase-out of Federal funding for local flood control projects. I am pleased that the subcommittee rejected this proposal during consideration of the fiscal year 1996 energy and water appropriations bill. In southeast Texas, the administration's plan would have been devastating. During October 1994, southeast Texas suffered some of the worst flooding our area had ever seen. Several lives and millions of dollars in homes and property were lost. Under the administration's proposal, seven severely needed projects in the Houston area, including Braes, Sims, Greens, and Clear Creek Bayous, would have been halted because the administration would not classify them as 'nationally significant.' This designation would have left many vital flood control projects in my district and around the country in limbo. In addition to threatening the safety of our constituents and their property, the loss of these funds would create a difficult financial burden on our State and local governments. Local taxpayers would have been forced to fund the lion's share of the $1.5 billion needed to complete these projects. That's $1.5 billion they cannot afford.”