Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024
Floor Speech
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Mr. MURPHY. Mr. Chair, I recognize the MVP of the baseball team very much for his heroic athletic ability during the climactic game that we had.
I rise today in support of H.R. 4394, the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, which funds the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' civil works projects and the Department of Energy to enhance our energy security and bolster our economic competitiveness in FY24.
Under President Biden, Americans have been forced to pay record prices at the pump, and our Strategic Petroleum Reserve has been decimated. We have become further reliant on China for critical minerals, crushed by overregulation, and watched the woke agenda destroy America's energy independence.
This legislation rolls back America-last policies; robustly funds construction, operation, and maintenance of our Nation's ports and inland waterways; and provides $34.8 million for dredging in North Carolina's Third District alone.
This bill includes $6.3 million for dredging the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway--we call it the ICW--which is vital to the commercial and recreational fishing industry in my district, and $18 million for dredging the Morehead City port, where our Marine expeditionary units deploy from Navy amphibious ships and play a vital role in our national security. God forbid we have to use them soon.
Also included is funding for other important inlets that our fishing industry and ferries rely on, such as Manteo Bay, New River Inlet, Rollinson Channel, New Topsail Inlet and connecting channels, as well as Silver Lake Harbor.
Lastly, it includes $5.2 million for the channel from Back Sound to Lookout Bight, which connects the ferry system to Cape Lookout. It has not been dredged in over 30 years, and it is common for vessels to run aground that must be pulled off the shoal with a very expensive movement by the U.S. Coast Guard.
I am very grateful for the work of Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies Subcommittee Chairman Fleischmann, aka the MVP of the baseball team, for putting forward a bill that recognizes the unique challenges and needs of our coastal communities across the country.
Mr. Chair, I support this year's energy and water development appropriations bill and urge my colleagues to do the same.
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