Statement By Senators John McCain And Russ Feingold

Statement

A day after a U.S. District Court Judge ruled that the Army Corps of Engineers displayed "gross negligence" that contributed to the breaching of the levees in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, U.S. Senators Russ Feingold (D-WI) and John McCain (R-AZ), who have led efforts to reform the Army Corps of Engineers, released the following statement:

"Yesterday's District Court ruling is further proof that the Army Corps of Engineers is in urgent need of reform. We again call upon the Administration to modernize the Corps' principles and guidelines in an effective manner as Congress directed over a year ago. American taxpayers cannot wait for another natural disaster like Katrina before we act to improve the safety and security of Corps projects."

On Tuesday, November 17th, Feingold and McCain wrote to Administration officials with several of their colleagues asking why reforms Congress passed in 2007 had yet to be implemented. In a letter to the Council on Environmental Quality, the Senators asked the Administration to fully modernize the Corps' Economic and Environmental Principles & Guidelines, which guide how the Corps develops water resources projects. They were joined by Environment and Public Works Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA), and Senators Joe Lieberman (I-CT), Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and Ben Cardin (D-MD). A separate letter where Feingold and McCain were joined by Senators Joe Lieberman (I-CT), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Thomas Carper (D-DE), and Ben Cardin (D-MD) pressed the Assistant Secretary for Civil Works at the Corps on the progress in implementing independent review, safety assurance review and mitigation reforms that were enacted in 2007. The Feingold-McCain letters to the Council on Environmental Quality and Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works can be viewed here and here, respectively.

Source