[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 104 (Monday, June 23, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H5824-H5826]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 PROVIDING REIMBURSEMENT FOR EXPENSES INCURRED BY MEMBERS OF COMMITTEE 
                            ON LEVEE SAFETY

  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend 
the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6040) to amend the Water Resources 
Development Act of 2007 to clarify the authority of the Secretary of 
the Army to provide reimbursement for travel expenses incurred by 
members of the Committee on Levee Safety.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 6040

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. COMMITTEE ON LEVEE SAFETY.

       Section 9003(f) of the Water Resources Development Act of 
     2007 (33 U.S.C. 3302(f)) is amended by striking ``To the 
     extent amounts are made available in advance in 
     appropriations Acts,'' and inserting ``Subject to the 
     availability of appropriations,''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson) and the gentlewoman from Virginia 
(Mrs. Drake) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Texas.


                             General Leave

  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their 
remarks and to include extraneous materials on H.R. 6040.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Texas?
  There was no objection.

[[Page H5825]]

  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield myself 
such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, H.R. 6040, introduced by the ranking member of the 
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Mr. Mica, and the ranking 
member of the Subcommittee on Water Resources Environment, Mr. Boozman, 
makes a technical change to title IX of the Water Resources Development 
Act of 2007.
  Title IX of the Water Resources Development Act of 2007 establishes 
the framework for the creation of the National Levee Safety Program to 
enhance the safety of levees and those living in levee-protected areas.
  In the 3 years since hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the Nation has 
refocused its attention to the safety and reliability of flood-control 
structures and how lives and livelihoods can be affected by their 
failure.
  It is especially evident that to our colleagues from the States of 
Iowa, Missouri, and Illinois, who have been experiencing the challenges 
of flooding from the Mississippi River and its tributary system over 
the past few weeks. The Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment 
has held numerous hearings on the condition of the Nation's levees and 
other flood-control structures.
  Throughout these hearings, one consistent theme was readily apparent, 
the condition of the Nation's flood control infrastructure is, at best, 
unknown, and in a few notable instances, is in desperate need for 
repair and upgrading. The subcommittee received testimony from noted 
experts in flood control infrastructure that of the thousands of miles 
of Federal, State, local, and privately owned levees, in this country 
little is known about the current condition, including whether levees 
were designed to meet current conditions or whether they have been 
properly maintained by the non-Federal interests.

                              {time}  1645

  Although rare, failure of flood control structures, such as levees, 
does occur, and has become more frequent in recent years, and actually, 
in the last recent weeks.
  Levees are typically built in a certain location and to a specified 
height to provide a certain level of protection. However, the level of 
protection provided by a levee may change with time, due to natural or 
manmade changes. Natural changes may include land subsidence, 
sedimentation, vegetative growth in the floodway, or the potential 
implications of climate change.
  Land use changes in an area such as upstream development, and the 
loss of natural upstream storage capacity, can induce hydrologic 
changes, including faster runoff that will reduce the level of 
protection provided by a levee.
  Given the important flood damage reduction and development 
opportunities provided by levees, it is important for the Nation to 
understand the true nature and condition of our flood control 
infrastructure, as well as to develop a comprehensive national policy 
to address issues related to the construction, operation and 
maintenance of projects and other management techniques for flood 
damage reduction.
  In that light, the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
included language in the Water Resources Development Act of 2007 for 
the creation of a national Committee on Levee Safety.
  The committee would be chaired by the Corps of Engineers and would 
include experts from around the Nation, working towards a short-term 
recommendation to Congress for the creation of an effective and 
efficient National Levee Safety Program.
  The House and Senate conferees on the Water Resources Development Act 
of 2007 agreed on the importance of soliciting the recommendations of 
the Nation's leading experts in levee safety to aid in the drafting of 
a future National Levee Safety Program. Whatever recommendations are 
made by the Committee on Levee Safety, these recommendations will be 
referred back to the Congress for enactment in future legislation.
  It is my understanding that the Corps has been working towards the 
creation of the committee, including the identification of a broad 
array of experts in levee safety. Unfortunately, the Corps believes it 
has hit a roadblock due to the specific wording of the authorization 
language that has prevented the Corps from utilizing available funding 
to pay for the travel expenses of the committee members.
  H.R. 6040 is a simple modification to the existing authorization 
language to ensure that the Corps can utilize already identified 
funding to pay these expenses so that the Committee on Levee Safety can 
formally be assembled and begin its important work.
  I applaud my colleagues on the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure, Ranking Member Mica, and the ranking member of the 
Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment for volunteering to 
move this legislation through the House.
  It is my hope that the other body can, also, quickly move this 
legislation to the President's desk so that the Levee Safety Committee 
can begin its important work and complete it later this summer.
  I urge adoption of this legislation.
  Madam Speaker, I submit the following for the Record.

                                               American Society of


                                              Civil Engineers,

                                    Washington, DC, June 23, 2008.
     Hon. James Oberstar,
     Chairman, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 
         House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
     Hon. John Mica,
     Ranking Member, Committee on Transportation and 
         Infrastructure, House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Chairman and Congressman Mica: I am writing on 
     behalf of the more than 140,000 members of the American 
     Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) to support passage of H.R. 
     6040, a bill to amend the Water Resources Development Act 
     (WRDA) of 2007 to clarify the authority of the Secretary of 
     the Army to provide reimbursement for travel expenses 
     incurred by members of the Committee on Levee Safety.
       As you recall, ASCE was a strong supporter of legislation 
     to enact a national levee safety program in WRDA 2007. We 
     believe that it is essential to clarify that the members of 
     the Committee on Levee Safety be eligible to receive 
     reimbursement for their travel incurred as a result of their 
     volunteering to work on the Committee. The outcome of the 
     Committee's study undoubtedly will have an important bearing 
     on future legislative efforts to improve the safety of the 
     nation's levee systems.
           Sincerely yours,
                                                  David G. Mongan,
                                                        President.

  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. DRAKE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, we have seen in the gulf region and now along the 
Mississippi River what can happen when hurricane and flood protection 
infrastructure is inadequate or fails to perform. Yet more Americans 
are moving to coastal areas where the risk of hurricanes and floods is 
great.
  In the south Atlantic region, the coastal population grew 51 percent 
from 1980 to 2000, and this trend is expected to continue. Along the 
Gulf of Mexico, the population has increased 38 percent from 1980 to 
2000, and this trend is also expected to continue.
  We do not know where the next hurricane or flood will hit, but we do 
know that many of our major cities, including parts of Washington, 
D.C., have a greater probability of flooding than did New Orleans.
  For example, the City of Sacramento, California, has almost twice as 
many people as New Orleans; yet it has less flood protection than any 
other major city in America. Cities like Houston, St. Louis, and Miami 
also are at risk. We cannot treat citizens of these cities differently 
unless we have a policy reason that we can explain and justify to our 
constituents.
  As we have learned from recent levee failures, our infrastructure is 
aging. What we know about the existence and conditions of these other 
levees we often learn when one fails or it is overwhelmed by a flood 
event. For instance, the State of California in 2005 declared a state 
of emergency in the Central Valley in anticipation of the failure of 24 
levees. According to the State of California, it would cost more than 
$5 billion to make critical delta levees, but not all delta levees, 
stronger in the face of flood and seismic events in the Central Valley.
  In the past, Congress has taken steps to ensure that the Nation's 
flood damage reduction infrastructure is properly inventoried, 
inspected, and assessed. In 1986, the Congress authorized the National 
Dam Safety Program Act to conduct an inventory and assessments of all 
dams nationwide. The National Inventory of Dams shows that 45

[[Page H5826]]

percent of all Federal dams are at least 50 years old and that 80 
percent of them are at least 30 years old.
  We know less about the status and capabilities of our levees. There 
has never been a national inventory of levees. Little is known about 
the current condition of both Federal and non-Federal levees, including 
whether these levees were designed to meet current conditions or 
whether they have been properly maintained by the non-Federal interest.
  Over the decades, levees have been built by different entities, at 
different times, and to different standards. They have been linked 
together to provide a protective system, but with such a mixture of 
conditions, the true level of protection may be in doubt.
  Over time, development has taken place behind some of these levees so 
much more may be at risk in terms of lives and economic resources.
  There is so much that we do not know about the levees in America that 
we cannot be sure how safe our cities and towns really are. We need 
more information.
  The Water Resources Development Act of 2007 included language 
establishing a panel to develop recommendations for a National Levee 
Safety Program. However, the Committee on Levee Safety is unable to 
meet since a drafting error contained in the Water Resources 
Development Act of 2007 inadvertently keeps the Army Corps of Engineers 
from carrying out important work.
  H.R. 6040 strikes the incorrect language and replaces it with 
language stating the Committee on Levee Safety can develop its 
recommendations subject to the availability of appropriations.
  This technical change will allow the Corps of Engineers to convene 
the Committee on Levee Safety as soon as this bill is enacted.
  With the recommendations that will come from this Committee on Levee 
Safety, the Congress can develop a national policy for levee safety and 
a program to ensure that levees are functional and safe.
  I urge all Members to support H.R. 6040.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6040, a bill 
to make a technical correction to a Water Resources and Development Act 
of 2007 provision authorizing the Secretary of the Army, acting through 
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, to establish a Committee on Levee 
Safety.
  Title IX of the Water Resources Development Act of 2007 authorizes 
the Corps to establish a committee of Federal, State, local, tribal, 
and private sector experts on levee safety to develop recommendations 
for a national levee safety program.
  As the events of the last few years have clearly demonstrated, there 
is a serious concern with the condition of the Nation's primary 
structural flood control measures--the Nation's system of levees. These 
structures, which range from the Federally constructed and maintained 
levees along the lower Mississippi River and tributaries, to Federal, 
State, and local levees nationwide, protect our lives and livelihoods 
from the risks of flooding. Within the jurisdiction of the Corps of 
Engineers alone, there are between 12,000 to 13,000 miles of levees 
protecting everything from major metropolitan cities to towns and 
townships throughout the nation. Without a doubt, the health, safety, 
and security of countless lives depend on the resiliency and upkeep of 
these essential structures.
  We have all witnessed the result of levee failure. Just 2 years ago, 
the flood walls surrounding three of the canals within the city of New 
Orleans failed, and the result was a major metropolitan city being 
underwater for days. Many of the communities impacted by this failure 
are still struggling today.
  Just this past month, we watched as the rivers of the Upper 
Mississippi River and its tributaries overfilled their banks and 
resulted in the unfortunate loss of life, as well as thousands of 
families losing their homes, their cars, and their businesses to the 
raging waters of the Mississippi River.
  Cognizant of the importance of the Nation's system of levees, the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure included a provision 
within the Water Resources Development Act of 2007 to create a 
Committee on Levee Safety that would be tasked with developing 
recommendations for a national levee safety program.
  The Secretary of the Army will establish the committee, and it will 
develop short-term recommendations to Congress for the creation of an 
effective and efficient National Levee Safety Program. The House and 
Senate conferees on the Water Resources Development Act of 2007 agreed 
on the importance of soliciting the recommendations of the Nation's 
leading experts in levee safety to aid in the drafting of a future 
National Levee Safety Program. The recommendations made by the 
committee on Levee Safety will be reported to the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure.

  It is my understanding that the Corps has been working toward the 
creation of this committee, including the identification of a broad 
array of experts in levee safety. Unfortunately, the Corps believes it 
has hit a roadblock due to the specific wording of the authorization 
language that has prevented the Corps from utilizing available funding 
to pay for the travel expenses of the committee members.
  H.R. 6040 is a simple modification to the existing authorization 
language to ensure that the Corps can utilize already identified 
funding to pay these expenses so that the Committee on Levee Safety can 
formally be assembled and begin its important work.
  I applaud my colleagues on the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure, Ranking Member Mica, and the Ranking Member of the 
Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment, Congressman Boozman, 
for sponsoring this legislation. It is my hope that the other body can 
quickly move this legislation to the President's desk, so that the 
Committee on Levee Safety can begin its important work later this 
summer.
  I urge my colleagues to support the bill.
  Mrs. DRAKE. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I have no further 
requests for time, and I yield back and ask for support for this 
measure.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 6040.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________