Rooney Commends Trump's Support of Herbert Hoover Dike

Press Release

Congressman Tom Rooney (FL-17) commends President Donald Trump for agreeing to provide the Army Corps of Engineers the maximum amount of funding needed to finish the repairs of the Herbert Hoover Dike.

"I'm thrilled to hear that President Trump is supportive of fully funding the much needed repairs to the Herbert Hoover Dike and I am pleased that Governor Scott was able to bring this issue to his attention," Rooney said. "In my own backyard, the Corps is 100 percent responsible for the construction and funding of the Herbert Hoover Dike, which protects communities around Lake Okeechobee from severe flooding. Despite the backlog of authorized Corps studies and projects awaiting federal funding, the Obama Administration requested a 23 percent decrease in Corps funding in his FY2017 budget request. Worse, the request included only $50 million for Dike construction, which is far below the $130 million the Corps needs to substantially complete all construction necessary to meet the flood risk reduction."

Rooney has tirelessly worked to fund the Herbert Hoover Dike, which is at the heart of the Kissimmee-Okeechobee-Everglades water system. In addition to securing funding in annual Appropriations bills, he has introduced legislation to allow Members of Congress to directly fund Army Corps projects and has pitched an idea which would implement a similar change to House rules.

Rooney presented this zero-cost infrastructure plan to Trump in a letter last month.

The completion of the Herbert Hoover Dike rehabilitation project is critical to ensuring the safety of the thousands of Floridians living near the Dike and will provide flexibility to temporarily increase storage in the Lake decreasing the frequency and intensity of damaging regulatory discharges from Lake Okeechobee to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries.

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