[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 130 (Thursday, July 27, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S3747]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS VICKSBURG 
                                DISTRICT

 Mrs. HYDE-SMITH. Mr. President, I am pleased to recognize the 
Vicksburg District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers--USACE--for 150 
years of exceptional service to the people of Mississippi and our 
Nation.
  Founded in 1873 when Captain William Henry Harrison Benyaurd created 
a USACE office in Monroe, LA, the Vicksburg District now covers 68,000 
square miles in Mississippi, Arkansas, and Louisiana; nine major river 
basins; 278 miles of the Mississippi River; and 460 miles of mainline 
Mississippi River levees. In 1884, the first permanent Vicksburg office 
was formed by Captain Eric Bergland. Vicksburg National Military Park 
was largely constructed by the Vicksburg District in the early 1900s. 
In response to the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and as directed by 
the Flood Control Act of 1928, the Vicksburg District designed and 
implemented an extensive flood control program, commonly referred to as 
the Mississippi Rivers and Tributaries--MR&T--project, which continues 
to serve the people of Mississippi to this day.
  The benefits the Vicksburg District brings to Mississippians and the 
Nation are hard to quantify, but should not be taken for granted. The 
average annual benefits of the MR&T project alone are valued at $1.46 
billion, but the positive impacts associated with the many watersheds, 
ports, locks and dams, reservoirs, and flood control structures the 
district manages go far beyond any dollar amount.
  The Vicksburg District continues to boast some of the brightest 
engineering minds in the world as it designs, constructs, and maintains 
premier civil works projects. In addition to fulfilling its mission of 
flood control, it also excels in its other mission areas, including 
navigation, hydro-power, recreation, water supply, emergency 
operations, and environmental restoration. I am grateful for its 
important work to protect the people, economy, and natural resources of 
Mississippi, and I look forward seeing what the Vicksburg District 
accomplishes in the future.

                          ____________________