[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 4 (Wednesday, January 9, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H296-H297]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1045
          SEAWALL CONSTRUCTION ON EAST SHORE OF STATEN ISLAND

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Rose) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. ROSE of New York. Madam Speaker, I rise today to announce my 
introduction of a bill authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to 
grant an easement of Federal lands for the construction of a seawall on 
the east shore of Staten Island.
  This is the first bill I am introducing, because, since Hurricane 
Sandy, which absolutely devastated my district, New York City, and the 
region as a whole, residents in my district have lived in fear of 
devastating flooding. They live in fear of another superstorm. They 
live in fear of heavy flooding. And they live in fear of the rising 
cost of flood insurance.
  That fear is real for my constituents. But the question isn't whether 
the storm will hit again; it is when.

[[Page H297]]

  That is why the Army Corps of Engineers, along with Federal, State, 
and local agencies, have worked to develop a plan to protect the lives 
and livelihoods of Staten Islanders by building a seawall.
  Federal, State, and local funding for this project already have been 
secured. All that remains is for Congress to pass my bill to allow for 
this critical construction to begin. I made a promise when I was sworn 
in that if something matters to the folks who live in my district--my 
constituents--well, then it matters to me. That is why I am here today, 
and that is why I will fight to pass this bill.
  I commend my predecessor, Congressman Dan Donovan, who introduced 
similar legislation in the previous Congress, which passed the House on 
a bipartisan basis, demonstrating that, when we want to, we can unite 
in order to enact legislation that saves American lives.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues in Congress to act swiftly on 
this legislation so that we can allow construction to begin as soon as 
possible and bring some peace of mind to families worrying about that 
next storm, worrying that they are going to lose their homes.
  In this time when government is shut down, it is damn time that we 
show the people of Staten Island, of South Brooklyn, of New York City, 
New York State, and the American people as a whole that government can 
do something positive.

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