[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]
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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.
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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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