Political Quotes

“I am pleased to rise today in support of H.R. 1380, the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2013. I commend Chairman Shuster, the subcommittee chairman, Mr. Gibbs, and our ranking member, Mr. Bishop, for the superb bipartisan way in which this legislation and the whole process has been handled. This legislation does provide important direction to the Army Corps of Engineers to meet its mission objectives and reform their planning and construction processes while also investing in our water transportation infrastructure and creating jobs. It has been 6 long years since we have passed Corps of Engineers water resources legislation. While Congress has had its back turned on our water infrastructure, Mother Nature has not been complacent. Since passage of the last WRRDA in 2007, the Nation has been challenged with floods, hurricanes, and droughts. Our aging locks, dams, and ports have too often been neglected. This bill before us today stops the ``finger in the dike'' solutions to our water infrastructure challenges and instead invests in these corridors of commerce. It should be pointed out that H.R. 3080 is not your traditional type of WRRDA. It does not contain Member-directed projects, the traditional earmarks, but at least the bill does take a step forward in reclaiming our constitutional authority. It is clear that in today's challenging fiscal times we have to find innovative ways to get water projects funded and completed.…”