Energy and Water

This bill starkly illustrates the shortsighted nature of the spending cap set by the House budget. The allocation for Energy and Water is simply insufficient to meet the challenges posed by the economic downturn and to guarantee our national security.

There has been a historic flood season in the Mississippi and Missouri River Basins. We know that the clean-up and recovery from these disasters will stress the Corps' budget even further. That is why it is imperative that we make the upfront investments in flood and storm damage reduction projects.

In the context of historic flooding in Mississippi River basin and the opening of an expanded Panama Canal, the allocation necessitates inadequate funding to meet the nation's water resource needs. Our ports and harbors provide the foundation for long term economic growth, currently access to these ports is limited to 50% of the channel 33 % of the time. Flood and storm damage reduction projects prevent costly rebuilding and repairs that result from inadequate initial investments. Even with the additional funds that the bill was able to provide, we continue down a shortsighted path that is penny wise, pound foolish.

-Obey Statement"Consumers have spoken with their wallets and they're saying they like this program."-Bill Text: HR 3435