[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 162 (Thursday, November 14, 2013)]
[House]
[Pages H7066-H7069]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1245
MOTION TO INSTRUCT CONFEREES ON H.R. 3080, WATER RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT 
                              ACT OF 2013

  Mr. SHUSTER. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from the 
Speaker's table the bill (H.R. 3080) to provide for improvements to the 
rivers and harbors of the United States, to provide for the 
conservation and development of water and related resources, and for 
other purposes, with the Senate amendment thereto, disagree to the 
Senate amendment, and agree to the conference requested by the Senate.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania?
  There was no objection.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
  Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York. Madam Speaker, I have a motion 
at the desk.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the motion.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Mr. Sean Patrick Maloney of New York moves that the 
     managers on the part of the House at the conference on the 
     disagreeing votes of the two Houses on the Senate amendment 
     to the bill H.R. 3080 be instructed to recede from 
     disagreement with the provisions contained in title IX of the 
     Senate amendment (relating to reducing the risks to life and 
     property from dam failure in the United States through 
     reauthorization of an effective dam safety program).

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 7 of rule XXII, the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Sean Patrick Maloney) and the gentleman 
from Pennsylvania (Mr. Shuster) each will control 30 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York.
  Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York. Madam Speaker, I yield myself 
such time as I may consume.
  Since joining the Congress, I have been working across the aisle on a 
piece of critical legislation, the Dam Safety Act, which gives 
communities all across America the support they need to ensure that 
dams have the highest safety standards possible.
  Many of these provisions were included in the bipartisan Water 
Resources Reform and Development Act, known as WRRDA, which 
overwhelmingly passed the House just a few weeks ago by a 417-3 vote 
margin.
  I certainly want to thank Chairman Shuster, Ranking Member Rahall, 
and subcommittee Ranking Member Bishop for their leadership on WRRDA 
and for working closely with me on this important issue.
  With major storms like Irene, Hurricane Sandy and Tropical Storm Lee 
becoming more and more frequent, I believe Congress needs to place a 
higher priority on strengthening our infrastructure, particularly on 
our oldest and often most vulnerable infrastructure--our dams. Should 
our dam infrastructure fail in the midst of these storms, the effects 
could be far more catastrophic and immediate than most other components 
of our States' infrastructure, endangering people's lives, their 
property and their livelihoods.
  Our country has over 87,000 dams, and approximately 10,000 of these 
dams are what are known as ``high-hazard dams.'' There are dams in 
virtually every congressional district and community across the 
country. The failure of any of these high-hazard dams would cause 
widespread damage and loss of life and, of course, major economic 
disruption; and approximately 40 percent of these high-hazard dams do 
not have an emergency action plan. I would like to say that again: more 
than 40 percent of our most important dams--the high-hazard dams--the 
failure of which could cause the loss of life or major property damage, 
do not have an emergency action plan. We live in a world now in which 
we have these extreme weather events, and you don't want to find out 
the dam is going to fail when you have a superstorm.
  The Hudson Valley--the communities I represent--is home to over 800 
dams, and nearly 100 of those dams are known as high-hazard dams, the 
failure of which could pose a serious risk to the economy and well-
being of these communities and families. Unfortunately, during 
Hurricane Irene, many folks were impacted because of a dam failure. 
Many of my neighbors in Tuxedo's East Village were devastated when the 
Echo Lake Dam released an estimated 100 million gallons of water. Some 
people in Tuxedo reported seeing an 8-foot wall of water rushing 
towards the town, causing catastrophic damage to the infrastructure and 
costing millions of dollars in property damage.
  For folks like John and Lisa Petriello, who live in the East Village, 
the failure of this dam flooded their home, cracked their foundation, 
and ripped the deck off their home. For Gary Phelps, it meant more than 
$125,000 in property damage. Then for businesses such as SOS Fuels, it 
meant their headquarters were condemned. In mere minutes, the flood 
carried away cars and appliances. Folks lost their furniture, their 
valuables, and their homes.
  From 2005 to 2009, 132 dams failed. So it is critical that every 
single community across the country be prepared and be protected, and 
they can be with this program.
  This important motion will make the final version of the Dam Safety 
program even better by authorizing the Dam Safety program at $9.2 
million per year over the next 5 years. This is $9.2 million which 
could, itself, be less than the cost of a single dam failure; yet we 
know that in just a 5-year period 132 dams failed. The National Dam 
Safety Program provides vital support to assist States like mine, New 
York, in developing emergency action plans, in implementing existing 
dam safety programs, in assisting with the purchase of equipment, and 
in conducting dam inspections.
  For the first time, the Senate provision would provide public 
awareness and outreach funding, an essential step to ensuring that all 
citizens understand the need to prepare for, to mitigate for, to 
respond to, and to recover from dam incidents and failures. It is far 
past time to start paying attention to a program that can make a real 
difference in people's lives, especially a program that has been passed 
on a bipartisan basis since 1974.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SHUSTER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  The committee supports the National Dam Safety Program. In fact, I 
commend the gentleman from New York in his freshman term to be working 
on the Dam Act because, as a freshman several years ago--12 years ago--
my first piece of legislation that I authored was the dam bill.
  Again, this is a critical program. It saves lives, it protects 
communities, and that is why we included language in H.R. 3080--to 
improve the Dam Safety program. There are minor differences between the 
House and the Senate language. We look forward to working on 
reconciling those differences as the legislation moves forward; and 
while we expect we will continue to have some negotiations with the 
Senate on this issue, I am not opposed to the motion to instruct on 
this provision.
  With that, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York. Madam Speaker, at this time, I 
yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from West Virginia 
(Mr. Rahall), my friend, the distinguished ranking member of the 
committee.
  Mr. RAHALL. I commend the gentleman from New York (Mr. Maloney) for 
offering this motion to instruct and for his leadership on this most 
vital issue for the safety of the American people. I also want to 
commend the full committee chairman, Mr. Shuster, the ranking member of 
our subcommittee, Mr. Bishop, and the subcommittee chairman, Mr. Gibbs, 
for their tremendous work on the underlying bill and for getting this 
to the point at which we are today.
  Madam Speaker, I am in strong support of the motion to instruct. This 
motion directs the conferees to recede to the Senate provision that 
includes the Dam Safety Act of 2013, which reauthorizes the Dam Safety 
program at reasonable levels.

[[Page H7067]]

  The Dam Safety program is about protecting lives. It is a critical 
program that provides much-needed education, training, and assistance 
to State dam safety officials. Dams protect our people, our homes, and 
our businesses from flooding. They provide essential drinking water, 
power to homes and businesses, critical irrigation for our Nation's 
food supply, and recreational opportunities for our citizens. West 
Virginians understand the importance of dams, the role they play in our 
daily lives, and the critical need to keep them safe.
  In 1972, a dam failure occurred at Buffalo Creek, West Virginia, 
claiming 125 lives and injuring 1,000 more, destroying over 500 homes 
and causing more than $400 million in property damage. While this 
incident occurred more than 40 years ago, West Virginians 
still remember the devastation caused by the dam failure and continue 
to mourn that loss of life. Out of this tragedy, Congress passed and 
created the National Inventory of Dams, which led to the National Dam 
Safety Program that this motion urges us to reauthorize today.

  Today, West Virginia has more than 600 dams included in the Army 
Corps of Engineers' National Inventory of Dams. Two-thirds of these 
dams are considered high-hazard dams, meaning that dam failure would 
result in loss of life and do serious damage to homes, businesses, 
public utilities, or highways. Moreover, 110 of these high-hazard dams 
do not have an emergency action plan, putting the lives of West 
Virginia citizens at greater risk. This motion to instruct will ensure 
that the program and investment are in place to help States and other 
dam owners inspect their dams and develop the emergency action plans 
that are necessary to ensure the continued safety of our citizens.
  Across the country, almost one-third of the Nation's 87,000 dams pose 
a high or a significant hazard to life and property if failure occurs, 
and these dams consistently receive failing grades from the American 
Society of Civil Engineers. This year is no different. The 2013 
Engineers report card gives our dams a ``D.'' Let me repeat that--a 
``D.'' Madam Speaker, it is critical that Congress reauthorize the 
National Dam Safety Program and ensure the safety of our citizens.
  I, again, commend the gentleman from New York, Sean Patrick Maloney, 
and I urge my colleagues to join him in supporting the motion to 
instruct conferees on H.R. 3080.
  Mr. SHUSTER. Madam Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York. At this time, Madam Speaker, I 
yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
Gallego), my friend.
  Mr. GALLEGO. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of Mr. Maloney's motion 
and to underscore the importance of the safety of dams.
  I would like to talk for a moment about a small town in which I grew 
up in west Texas. I heard often the story of a fateful night in 
Sanderson, Texas, in June of 1965 after heavy rains caused a 15-foot 
wall of water to come rolling through Sanderson Canyon. The water came 
down with such force that it turned bridges and buildings into 
torpedoes. The two cemeteries lost burial markers, and caskets were 
washed out. Families lost homes. Many lost everything. There were 28 
people in Sanderson, Texas, who died, and two were never recovered. 
Since that flood in 1965, 11 dams have been built, which in unison have 
acted as a flood control system for Sanderson Canyon.
  We don't want any more Sanderson flood-type experiences. El Paso, 
Presidio, and Del Rio all have experiences with water rushing through 
canyons and, in coming through, causing damage. The only things that 
have saved life and property have been these dams that have been in 
existence now for some time.
  As the ranking member mentioned earlier, those dams are incredibly 
important. They are incredibly important in saving property, and they 
are incredibly important in saving lives. Significantly, across the 
country, nearly half of these dams are more than 50 years old. It is 
incredibly important that they be maintained and maintained well.
  In Del Rio, the Amistad Dam holds water from the Rio Grande, the 
Pecos River, and the Devils River. Imagine the importance of that dam. 
While that dam is maintained by a binational commission, there are many 
other dams in that region and in that area that serve not only to save 
water for agricultural purposes but for many other purposes as well. In 
fact, even in San Antonio, the world-famous River Walk is controlled by 
a series of small dams; and when it rains there, as it has recently, 
those dams have become incredibly, incredibly important.
  In the Sanderson example that I gave earlier, households, up until 
recently, have been spending $700 a year on flood insurance annually 
even if there hasn't been a flood in 4\1/2\ decades. We can save a lot 
of people a lot of money if we just make sure that these dams are built 
well, that they are maintained well, and that they serve their 
functions not only now but in the foreseeable future.
  So, with that, Madam Speaker, I again thank Mr. Maloney for bringing 
this issue to the attention of the membership of the Congress, and I 
rise in support of his motion to instruct.
  Mr. SHUSTER. Madam Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York. Madam Speaker, in my opening 
remarks, I also should have mentioned the chair of the subcommittee, 
Mr. Gibbs. I would like to thank him in addition to the chairman and my 
ranking member of the subcommittee, Mr. Bishop, for the excellent work 
they have done on this.
  With that, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from 
Minnesota (Mr. Nolan), my colleague.
  (Mr. NOLAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. NOLAN. Madam Speaker and Members of the House, I rise in support 
of the motion to recommit.
  I would like to also commend Chairman Shuster, Ranking Member Rahall 
and, in particular, my colleague Sean Patrick Maloney for bringing this 
important issue to the attention of the House and, Mr. Maloney, for 
your motion to instruct.

                              {time}  1300

  We clearly have 14,000 dams throughout the country that have been 
designated as high hazards. That is a well known fact. Another fact is 
that there are 20,000 dams that are over a half a century old. These 
facts underscore the neglect, as well as the profound need, to put 
forth better inspection plans and to invest more in the rebuilding of 
our dams and our infrastructure.
  Quite frankly what the whole WRRDA bill is really all about is not 
just investing in our dams, but investing in our roads, our bridges, 
our ports, our rivers, our lakes, our health, our safety, our tourism, 
and our economy. In some respects, that is what has laid the foundation 
for the great economic success and prosperity that we enjoy here in 
this country. We have neglected it, and this is an important and 
profound motion to address the dam issue, if you will pardon the 
expression in that manner.
  This whole bill is important for us to embrace. I commend the members 
of the committee for putting this together. I hope that we will all 
join and continue through this House in the way that we did in 
committee, in a bipartisan manner, to recognize the profound need that 
we have here and start reinvesting in America. It will create jobs. It 
will increase our prosperity. It will help reduce the deficit in our 
budgets. It will have so many profound and positive rippling effects 
throughout our country and throughout our economy.
  It is with great pleasure that I have the opportunity to stand here 
and embrace this and urge my support for the motion to recommit, and 
perhaps even more importantly, the importance of passing the WRRDA 
legislation.
  Mr. SHUSTER. Madam Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York. Madam Speaker, I would like to 
forgive the gentleman from Minnesota for his vulgarity on the House 
floor. It is hard not to curse when mentioning the title of this 
motion. It is also hard not to curse when you realize that only 60 
percent of the high hazard dams have an emergency action plan. That is 
one of the reasons why this bill is so important.
  I yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from 
Tennessee (Mr. Cohen), my friend.

[[Page H7068]]

  Mr. COHEN. Madam Speaker, I want to thank Mr. Maloney for his work 
and Mr. Shuster for his work. We ``dam'' well better get prepared to 
increase our infrastructure spending, or we will have more problems in 
this country.
  The motion to instruct conferees is well-taken and well-drafted. Our 
roads, rivers, railways, and runways got a D-plus on the American 
Society of Engineers' 2013 report card for America's infrastructure. 
That is inexcusable, a D-plus on our infrastructure. It used to be the 
pride of our country and one of the ways that we produced jobs and took 
goods to market. The fact that this score was awarded to a world 
superpower and a leader in technological innovation is completely 
unacceptable.
  Passing WRRDA is an important step towards turning around our 
Nation's infrastructure investment program. I was proud to work with 
and support our outstanding chairman, Chairman Shuster, and Ranking 
Member Rahall when we passed the bill in both the Transportation 
Committee and on the House floor.
  Our committee understands--I think not totally, I can't speak for the 
whole committee, but in general--that earmarks aren't a bad thing and 
earmarks are something that greases the wheels that make the engine of 
government run and work effectively and bipartisanly. We need to bring 
those back to make this House work together, Democrats and Republicans, 
so we all have something invested for our districts. That is important.
  People ask about dysfunction here and people not working together. It 
is because everybody doesn't have some part of the pie, something for 
their districts that they can be proud of. We need to get that back. 
People need to understand that article I says this Congress is supposed 
to appropriate the moneys. That is why our infrastructure has weakened. 
That is why we have so many projects along rivers where the Corps of 
Engineers don't have adequate funding and direction to keep our rivers 
moving and moving commerce forward.
  WRRDA doesn't mean that just our Nation's waterways, locks, and dams 
will be the subjects of targeted investments, which it needs to be. It 
means that thousands of people will be put to work on making the 
improvements necessary to improve the national infrastructure.
  The effect of sequestration on our Nation's infrastructure is real. 
It is time to get back on track toward smart investments that make our 
Nation more competitive in the global marketplace.
  The Corps of Engineers has a backlog of authorized projects in excess 
of $60 billion. The Corps construction account has been reduced by $688 
million since 2010. We should be doing more to build that 
infrastructure and create jobs, not less.
  According to a study by the American Society of Civil Engineers, if 
we don't make new investments in our new water infrastructure, we will 
lose $416 billion in GDP by 2020 due to increased costs and loss of 
work productivity. This means real loss for real American families.
  Madam Speaker, I think in Turkey they are probably improving their 
infrastructure. We should be doing the same thing here in America, 
Madam Speaker. It is important we do that.
  Without investment, the average American family would have to adjust 
their household income to account for a $900 squeeze as a result of 
rising water rates and falling personal incomes. The longer we put off 
investment in our Nation's infrastructure, the more that investment 
will cost and the more people will be out of work and the more 
difficult it will be for our economy to get righted.
  I support this motion to instruct conferees today. I thank Mr. 
Maloney and Mr. Shuster, and hopefully we can put America's 
infrastructure investments back on the right back. But to do that in 
the long run, we need bipartisanship, which will involve earmarks and 
making the transportation bills like they used to be when Mr. Shuster's 
father was there and like Mr. Shuster would like to make them. If we 
can just take Mr. Shuster and clone him, we can work together and have 
a greater America and more jobs and a greater country.
  Mr. SHUSTER. I would like to inquire, does the gentleman have other 
speakers?
  Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York. No, Mr. Chairman. I am prepared 
to close.
  Mr. SHUSTER. Madam Speaker, again, we expect to continue to work with 
the Senate on this language. It is a critical program. It saves lives 
and protects communities. So again, we accept the motion to instruct.
  With that, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York. Madam Speaker, I would like to 
thank, again, the chairman, Mr. Shuster.
  I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  In closing, as frustrating as Washington can be for many of us who 
are new to the Congress, we can actually get results and make a 
difference by conferencing the Water Resources Reform and Development 
Act. We have the opportunity for the Congress to set aside petty 
politics and partisanship to actually get something done for the 
American people.
  WRRDA is a critical and strategic investment in our Nation's aging 
infrastructure and creates jobs, strengthens our local economies, and 
keeps families all across the country safe. We can make it even better 
by ensuring that every State and community has the resources to conduct 
safety inspections and to create emergency action plans. Again, there 
are 14,000 high hazard dams in this country, 60 percent of which--only 
60 percent of which--have an emergency action plan.
  This program makes sense. Don't take it from me. You can take it from 
the folks in Warwick, New York, where one of these high hazard dams 
exists. After experiencing nearly a foot of rain in 24 hours, many 
families were forced to evacuate for fear of a potential series of dam 
failures and catastrophic flooding. Warwick had a plan in place, 
though, and conducted a safe evacuation.
  Dams like those in Warwick rely on the National Dam Safety Program to 
enhance the safety of their dams by hiring staff to conduct 
inspections, to purchase equipment, and to develop emergency action 
plans for dam safety. These plans save lives and prevent catastrophe. 
Investing in the National Dam Safety Program provides our communities 
with the resources they need to protect our families and our economy by 
conducting safety inspections and creating plans. Simply put, a stitch 
in time saves nine. Nowhere is that more true than here.
  I hope we can join together in a bipartisan way to support 
communities all across America by passing this motion to make the final 
version of this bill even better.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. KIND. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of Congressman 
Maloney's Motion to Instruct Conferees to recede to the Senate on the 
Dam Safety Provision of the Water Resources Reform and Development Act. 
Dams are an integral part of our nation's economy and provide water for 
agricultural and drinking purposes, flood control, navigation, and 
hydropower. Unfortunately, of the 87,000 dams listed on the 2013 
National Inventory of Dams (NID), over 14,000 are deemed ``high 
hazard.'' This means that failure of these dams would result in the 
loss of life and serious damage to homes, businesses, and 
infrastructure. In the state of Wisconsin, there are 252 high hazard 
dams. Furthermore, only 60 percent of the nation's high hazard dams 
have Emergency Action Plans, and over 20,000 dams nationwide were 
constructed prior to 1960. Aging dams add not only to construction 
costs but also increase the risk of failure. In fact, the American 
Society of Civil Engineers recently gave the nation's dam 
infrastructure an unacceptable ``D'' grade in their annual report.
   Though states are responsible for regulating about 80 percent of the 
nation's dams, most states are understaffed and underfunded. The Model 
State Dam Safety Program has determined that 10 state regulators are 
necessary per 25 dams in order to carry out the regulatory mandates set 
in most state dam safety laws. However, in 2012, the Association of 
State Dam Safety Officials reported that due to lack of funding, most 
states only have 8 dam inspectors; this means that on average, each dam 
inspector is responsible for overseeing the safety of about 208 
existing dams, or more than seven times the amount recommended. 
Wisconsin's dam safety program has 6.25 employees that oversee an 
average of 152 state regulated dams, or more than five times the amount 
recommended by the Model State Dam Safety Program.
   For the first time, this Senate provision would provide for public 
awareness outreach

[[Page H7069]]

funding, an essential step to ensure that all citizens understand the 
need to prepare for, mitigate for, respond to, and recover from dam 
incidents and failures. Investment in infrastructure is critical to the 
long-term economic health of our nation, and that is why I support 
Congressman Maloney's efforts to authorize funding for the Dam Safety 
Provision of WRRDA.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. All time for debate has expired.
  Without objection, the previous question is ordered on the motion to 
instruct.
  There was no objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion to instruct.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York. Madam Speaker, on that I demand 
the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this question will be postponed.

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