Butterfield Offers Amendment to Protect Communities from Natural Disasters

On Wednesday, Congressman G. K. Butterfield (NC-01) offered an amendment to H.R. 2609, the Fiscal Year 2014 Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, to prioritize disaster relief and flood mitigation for Army Corps of Engineers construction projects. The Corps works to improve the safety of communities such as those near the Neuse River in Goldsboro, North Carolina and in Princeville, North Carolina where Hurricane Floyd all but destroyed the town due to rapidly rising water levels and poor containment of the Tar River.

Butterfield said, "We must ensure that the federal government is doing everything possible to help protect and reinforce communities from natural disasters. With an active hurricane season ahead, the need to support the Corps is imminent and critical to the cities and towns that are often impacted by severe weather."

Although Butterfield offered an amendment to H.R. 2609, he voted to oppose the bill which cuts funding for the U.S. Department of Energy, the Army Corps of Engineers, and all federal water projects by $2.9 million. Included in those cuts is a $304 million reduction to Corps funding that will weaken the nation's ability to respond to threats and damage from severe weather.

Dating back to 1779, the Corps provides essential engineering, design, and construction management services such as repairing damaged levees, providing emergency water supplies, and developing infrastructure that helps protect against natural disasters. Due to continued budget cuts, the Corps currently faces a $60 billion backlog of construction projects, and has not completed any new projects since 2010.

Congressman Butterfield's amendment was not adopted in the bill that passed the House late last night.

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