H.R. 3183: Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010

H.R. 3183: ENERGY AND WATER DEVELOPMENT AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2010 -- (House of Representatives - July 15, 2009)

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Mr. KLEIN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my strong support for H.R. 3183, the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2010.

I applaud the subcommittee chairman and the ranking member for moving this important bill through the Appropriations Committee and to the House floor.

This bill funds some of the most critical programs in south Florida, where I live, and my constituents are very much in tune with this particular bill.

I would like to spend a few moments today focusing on how this bill affects our area of south Florida.

Since coming to Congress, I have been committed, along with my Democrat and Republican colleagues, to working to make sure with the Florida delegation and with Members throughout the country that they support Federal Government obligations to restore the incomparable River of Grass, which is known as the Everglades.

I was very pleased that President Obama, in his budget request, met his promise and followed up on that to make Everglades restoration a priority. Although the $210 million in this bill doesn't quite match the President's request, the fact remains that this bill makes Everglades restoration its biggest construction project.

I commend the chairman and ranking member for keeping Everglades restoration as a national priority. It is historical.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3183's commitment to Florida's priorities are also something to be mentioned. The beaches of south Florida are some of the most beautiful in the Nation, but our coasts are facing a real crisis. They have become seriously eroded, endangering both the personal property and the personal safety of residents and guests. My district in south Florida encompasses over 75 miles of beautiful coastline on the Atlantic, and it has numerous shore protection projects, but many are mired in the Army Corps of Engineers' permitting process.

There are many reasons why the permitting process is not as efficient as it could be, but one problem we can address right here is the understaffing at the Army Corps of Engineers. For example, Palm Beach County, which is one of the counties I represent in south Florida, was forced to pay out of its taxpayer dollars the salary of an additional Army Corps of Engineers staffer to deal with the county's many projects awaiting some Army Corps action. In essence, Palm Beach County became fed up with waiting year after year for the Corps to act on their permit applications, so they are now paying for the extra Army Corps employee to do his job.

Mr. Speaker, this is a ridiculous situation that is unfair to the taxpayers of south Florida, who are paying their fair share here up in Washington. That is why I filed an amendment that was accepted as part of Chairman PASTOR's manager's amendment. This language, combined with increases in the underlying bill, will add $11.8 million on top of last year's funding level to fund more staff and to support more personnel to help act on a more efficient basis with regard to these permits. This sizable investment will unclog the permitting pipeline that is hurting so many of our coastal communities. They deserve a timely decision so they can determine the best ways to protect their residents and the natural resources.

Mr. Speaker, south Florida and the entire country need greater strategic investment in our Nation's priorities. This particular bill, H.R. 3183, will put us on a path towards energy independence in addition to a number of other bills we've already put on the table and have sent to the President. The only way we can reduce our dependence on foreign oil is to invest in a multitude of technologies and to make these technologies right here in the United States, creating the jobs right here. This bill invests in solar and wind energy in order to make our electricity cleaner. At the same time, it also invests in weatherization and in energy efficiency to bring down costs for consumers and businesses. The bill includes investments in clean coal technology and nuclear energy research so that we can unleash these innovations and create high-quality American jobs.

The bill also makes critical investments in vehicle technology so that our gas tanks get more miles per gallon, which will save us money at the pump. Of course, using less gasoline means we will import less gasoline, and that is an essential national security item because, currently, we are importing 60 percent of our oil from unstable countries around the world that, in many cases, are financing terrorism and drug trafficking with our petrodollars. I believe that a transition to new energy sources will ensure that we do not continue to send billions of dollars to countries that are, at best, not our friends and, at worst, are our enemies. My strongest belief is that we should never again have to make a foreign policy decision based on where the next drop of oil is coming from.

Lastly, H.R. 3183 builds on the recently passed American Clean Energy Security Act and Recovery Act, which has jump-started American investment in this new energy economy I've been talking about. I truly believe this is an historic moment and an extraordinary opportunity to create jobs in south Florida and throughout the Nation and to unleash a new generation of energy technology built right here in America.

I am proud to support H.R. 3183, and I am looking forward to seeing the results on the ground in south Florida.

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