Water Resources Development Act of 2016

Floor Speech

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Mr. BOST. Mr. Chairman, I thank Chairman Shuster for helping with the effort on this amendment.

The purpose of my amendment is simple. I believe that the Army Corps of Engineers should consider all potential economic benefits of repairing levees following a flood disaster. Right now, the Corps may only consider flood prevention when allocating rehabilitation assistance of levees. This makes no sense.

The Corps manages inland waterways for a multitude of purposes. In many cases, Federal and non-Federal levees work together in an integrated system. How can we ignore the benefits of repairing a levee when doing so would improve navigation and other Corps responsibilities along with it?

The repair of the Len Small Levee in Alexander County, Illinois, is just one example of our failing to see the forest for the trees. The levee was breached in last winter's floods. Millions have been spent on riprap to maintain navigation on the river. Even more money will be needed to maintain navigation if further flood damage occurs. Despite that fact, the Corps has ignored the navigation benefits and costs of making interim repairs.
My amendment helps address this issue, but further reforms to the Corps levee repair program must be made. I hope to work with the chairman and ranking member to address these issues with the programs in future legislation.

I encourage a ``yes'' vote on this piece of legislation.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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