[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 11]
[House]
[Pages 16104-16105]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           WATER RESOURCES REFORM AND DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 2013

  (Mr. CRAMER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. CRAMER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to encourage my colleagues to support 
today's jobs bill, the Water Resources Reform and Development Act, 
because it is not an earmark. It authorizes--not appropriates--money 
for 23 projects identified by the Corps of Engineers as important. They 
are important for a number of reasons, not the least of which is their 
primary purpose is the movement of goods and services into the global 
marketplace, which creates wealth and jobs for Americans.
  Further, it authorizes projects that are important to flood 
protection in flood-prone areas like the Red River Valley of the North, 
in my area. In addition to that, the real reforms that are impressive 
are things like it de-authorizes old projects to the tune of $12 
billion worth. Furthermore, it gives

[[Page 16105]]

more leverage and flexibility for the use of non-Federal funds, which 
is, I think, the very thing that the taxpayers of this State are 
looking for--the type of flexibility that allows local governments and 
local communities to do the right thing for themselves.

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