[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 127 (Thursday, July 27, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1065]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2018

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                               speech of

                            HON. PETER WELCH

                               of vermont

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 26, 2017

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 3219) making 
     appropriations for the Department of Defense for the fiscal 
     year ending September 30, 2018, and for other purposes:
  Mr. WELCH. Mr. Chair, in communities across the country, our 
infrastructure is falling apart. This fact was highlighted once again 
when the American Society of Civil Engineers released its 2017 
Infrastructure Report Card which gave our nation's infrastructure a D+ 
rating. That is not acceptable and we must do better.
  One area of particular concern is the state of our nation's dams. In 
far too many communities, darns are in danger of breaching. As we 
recently saw at the Oroville Dam in California, dam breaches can cause 
catastrophic consequences to the surrounding communities.
  Last year, Congress took a positive step to address this issue with 
the passage of the Water Infrastructure Improvement for the Nation 
(WIIN) Act. In particular, Section 1177 of the WIIN Act authorized 
funding for the Army Corps of Engineers to begin working to rehab some 
of our nation's oldest, Corps-constructed dams that are classified as 
``high hazard potential''. As many of you know, the failure of a dam 
that is classified as high-hazard potential is anticipated to cause 
loss of life.
  While Section 1177 is a positive start, it needs to be funded so the 
Corps can get to work. My amendment would simply direct the Army Corps 
to use existing funds within its Construction Account to implement this 
provision up to its authorized level of $10 million.
  Both parties agree we need to improve our infrastructure. This is a 
modest proposal to address some of the most outdated, hazardous dams in 
the country.
  I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

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