Government officials testified about the infrastructure needs at recent senate hearing. Good morning. I call this hearing to order. Today we are holding a hearing to highlight the importance of passing a new Water Resource Development act or werda during the 1 is 5th congress. It authorizes funding for the army corps of engineers Water Works Program which need past wedder today provisions. Prior congresses have too additionally passed werda on biannual basis going back to 1986. Unlike other contentious issues, historically, republican and democratic members of this Senate Environmental Public Works Committee, have been able to pass werda legislation. This is legislation that moves. Regardless of Party Affiliation we understand these kinds of investment are par too important to the community to fall to partisan politics. This represents a did i veers group of communities with different needs. Our committee has members that represent baltimore, maryland, anchorage, alaska. Wyoming and wi
To yourself about being in control. Cocaine is not hip, its hype. Anyone who tells you its okay is a liar. Watch American History tv every weekend on cspan 3. State and local water resource officials testify about the status of u. S. Water infrastructure and the benefits of passing a new bill which would designate specific repair or improvement projects. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held this hearing earlier this month. Good morning. I call this hearing to order. Today we highlight the importance of passing a new resource Water Development act, or wrda. Wrda authorizes funding for the Civil Works Program. In order to write good legislation we must consider the effectiveness, the status of their implementation as well as our countrys future Water Infrastructure needs. They have jurisdiction over much of the waters infrastructure including locks and dams and inland waterways and ports. Prior congresses have traditionally passed on a biannual basis going back to 1986.
Were now going to move on from a series of questions. Ill start with you if i can. Many stakeholders who work with the corps of engineers have comment and complained a little bit about the process it follows from identifying a Water Resources problem to implementing a solution and can be long costly delays. For example, in the arid west, there are many water supply challenges that havent yet been solved such as removing sediment from reservoirs to providing more water supply capacity and effectively managing multiwater supply needs such as flood Risk Management, drinking water, irrigation, all from a single reservoir. So as a result, the water supply is becoming scarce and more expensive. Can you please share in any thoughts you might have to improve the corpss processes so that the water resource projects are operated more efficiently. Thank you, senator. We actually have a number of suggestion, but in the interests of time, im going to limit it to two. First improve the governmental
Notices. So point three is everybody better exercise what can happen but also what might happen thats really dark and awful. And that requires leadership, that requires time and training. And a lot of people are not doing it. And thats worrisome. After that, actually a few years ago, rand had a sabrini panel. I was a member of that too. There were only two of us who were laymen. There were army generals, steve abbott, fourstar navy admiral, was the chair, i was the vice chair. It was chemical, biological, nuclear and radiological event. That was what was exercised. And we concluded, to our horror, that nobody law enforcement, National Guard, the local First Responders had a clue what a nuclear event, dirty bomb, what did it look like in terms of injured people or a chemical or a biological event. Now, have things changed since then . Certainly at the state level. But guess what . No Congressional Committee had a hearing. Amazing. We went to see one senator who said, god, this is really
Committee of the whole house on the state of the union for further consideration of h. R. 2936 which the clerk will report by title. The clerk a bill to expedite under the National Environmental policy act of 1969 improve Forest Management activity on National Forest system lands, on public lands under jurisdiction of the bureau of Land Management and on tribal lands to return resilience to overgrown, fireprone forested lands and for other purposes. The chair when the committee of the whole rose earlier today, a request for a recorded vote on amendment number 7 rinted in house report 115378 offered by the gentleman from new mexico, mr. Pearce, had een postponed. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule 18, proceedings will now resume on those amendments printed in house report 115378 on which further proceedings were postponed in the following order. Amendment number 2, mr. Khanna of california. Amendment number 3, mr. Ohalleran of arizona. Amendment number 7 by mr. Pearce of new mexico. The chair