Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016

Floor Speech

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Mr. HOEVEN. Mr. President, I rise to speak on the issue of the fiscal year 2016 Energy and Water Development appropriations bill--the bill that, in fact, is now before the Senate.

We just voted at 2 o'clock this afternoon on the NDAA, the National Defense Authorization Act. That is very important because we need to pass that legislation for our military. In fact, we did, and we passed it with 70 votes. That is incredibly important because the President has threatened a veto on the National Defense Authorization Act.

This is legislation that has passed the House, and now it has passed the Senate and it is going to the President. If he vetoes it, we have to have the votes to override because we have to get that legislation done for our men and women in uniform.

Not only, as I spoke earlier on the floor, is it about making sure we are doing our job on behalf of our military but also on behalf of our Nation's defense.

The other thing I mentioned in regard to that legislation is we also need to pass the companion bill, which is the Defense appropriations bill. So very soon we will be taking up the Defense appropriations bill, which is the funding that goes with the National Defense Authorization Act. We authorize those military programs and then we have to fund them. That is why the Department of the Defense appropriations bill has to be passed along with the Defense Authorization Act in order to get the job done for our military. I make that point because until we have done both of those things, we have not funded the military the way we need to. I make that point as part of a bigger point and that is this: The Appropriations Committee, of which I am a member, has passed all 12 appropriations bills out of committee, and they are awaiting action on the floor of the Senate. Those bills have been passed with strong bipartisan votes. Instead of having each and every one of those bills filibustered, we need to take those bills up and debate those bills. People should offer the amendments they have, we can debate those amendments, and then we can vote. That is our job. That is how the Senate works. That is what the people of this great country send us to do. That is the work of the Senate. That is regular order.

As we talk about authorizing programs for men and women in uniform, we also have to pass the Defense appropriations bill. That will be coming before this Senate. I make that point because what we have been facing is a filibuster of all these appropriations bills. We will have another test. We will have another test now this week, and this is on the Energy and Water Development appropriations bill. This is energy, Corps of Engineers, vital fundamental infrastructure for this great country. So we will see if our colleagues will join us. Can we join together in a bipartisan way and advance through this appropriations bill, have the debate, offer the amendments, and get this work done? I hope the answer to that is yes. We will find out over the course of today and tomorrow if our colleagues would join together and get this work done for the American people and then on we go.

We may have to deal with a Presidential veto on the National Defense Authorization Act. If so, let's do so. Let's do so in a bipartisan way. Then let's take up the appropriations bill that goes with that Defense authorization. Let's make sure all 12 of these bills, all of these appropriations bills are brought to this floor, people have their opportunity for the debate, people can offer their amendments, and we will have our votes. If something can get 60 votes, it passes. That is the work of the Senate. That is the work of the Senate. If it is not done, the reason it will not be done is because there will be an ongoing filibuster. It is very important that the American people understand that because this is the work of the Senate, this is the work of the Congress, and we need to be clear about whether we are getting that work done or whether we continue to face a filibuster that does not allow us to bring this legislation forward to debate it in an open, transparent debate. Put it out there in front of the American people, make the argument, offer the amendments, and vote. That is how it is done. That is how it is done in this democracy. That is how it is done in this Senate.

So I rise to talk about the merits of the Energy and Water Development appropriations bill. This measure appropriates funding for the U.S. Department of Energy, including national nuclear security and energy research and development, as well as critical infrastructure projects administered by the Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation. The Senate Appropriations Committee approved this bill in May. I am a member not only of this Appropriations Committee but this subcommittee, and we voted out of committee 26 to 4. So there are 30 members on the full Appropriations Committee, Republicans and Democrats, and by a vote of 26 to 4 we voted in favor of this legislation. That is about as bipartisan as it gets. It was supported by all of the Republican members of the committee and 10 of the Democratic members.

As a member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, I thank Chairman Alexander and Ranking Member Feinstein. They have crafted a bipartisan bill within our budget framework that balances our energy priorities and our national security preparedness.

I also commend Senate Appropriations Chairman Cochran and Ranking Member Mikulski. They brought the measure up in regular order, allowing amendments and debate, and they advanced this bill, as I said, with a very strong bipartisan 26-to-4 vote. The fact is, this is the first time in 6 years the Appropriations Committee has passed all 12 appropriations bills. All 12 have been passed in a bipartisan manner, awaiting action on the floor.

As I said, this legislation is within the budget guidelines. The Senate Energy and Water bill includes $35.4 billion in overall funding, which is $1.2 billion more than last year's funding level.

The Energy Department's nuclear security program is funded at $12.3 billion, which is $856 million more than last year. The Department of Energy programs receive an additional $270 million. This is important because our Nation has significant infrastructure needs, and that is what we are addressing, basic infrastructure needs of this kind. The longer we wait to improve America's infrastructure, particularly our waterways, the higher the cost will be. So it is very important that we get this legislation moving.

One of the ways we can cost-effectively improve the Nation's infrastructure is by using public-private partnerships, P3s, to fund water projects. I worked closely with Senator Alexander, the chairman of the Energy and Water Development Subcommittee to include support for P3-style projects in this legislation.

I see that our chairman has joined us. Again, I commend him for not only the overall legislation but for his support for the P3s, public-private partnerships. By leveraging the resources of the private sector, we can accelerate construction and reduce overall project costs. This creates a win for citizens who benefit from the project and a win for taxpayers who save money on projects that are constructed on a more cost-effective basis. I look forward to passing this legislation so we can advance this P3 concept.

In fact, we have a project in Fargo, ND, that is perfectly suited for this type of approach. A P3 project can save the government hundreds of millions of dollars in construction costs, but we need to get this legislation passed so the Corps has the ability to start these types of projects and get them constructed for our country.

I am also pleased the legislation permits the Army Corps of Engineers to get a handful of new feasibility studies. Mother Nature doesn't wait on the Senate or Congress, so we have to keep looking at areas where we need to upgrade infrastructure and respond to things as they occur; for example, some of the recent events, as the Presiding Officer knows, which occurred in Colorado, the Animas River. One area I am very familiar with that needs better protection is Minot, ND, where we had a devastating flood in 2011. We need to do a feasibility study to determine how best to make sure that flood protection is put in place.

Finally, I am strongly supporting funding included in the legislation for

improvements to water infrastructure across this country. Whether it is our ports or whether it is large or small, this is basic infrastructure we need for quality of life in this country. This is a long-term investment for the future of our country, the quality of life, the welfare of our people, and the ability to grow our economy.

Let me touch on a couple of areas before I turn over the floor to our chairman. In addition to the Corps of Engineers, this legislation provides funding for the National Nuclear Security Administration, the agency that develops and maintains the Nation's nuclear warheads. NNSA relies on the funding provided every year in the Energy and Water bill to preserve the Nation's nuclear deterrents. It is critical that this legislation moves forward. I am particularly pleased the legislation meets the fiscal year 2016 budget request for funds needed to refurbish the W80 warhead, which is the warhead that goes on our nuclear cruise missiles.

The W80 warhead is aging and needs to be refurbished so it can move to the new cruise missile being developed by the Air Force. The W80 is critical to the air leg of the Nation's nuclear triad. I am glad this legislation provides the funding to help keep our triad intact and in fact modernized.

The bill also makes advances in our energy security priorities. It increases funding for the Energy Department's energy research and development, which will help provide the research for technologies that will advance coal, natural gas, oil, and other fossil energy resources and innovations. This is important in order to pursue a true ``all of the above'' energy policy that enables our country to produce both traditional and renewable energy with better environmental stewardship.

The bill also provides support for the coal Advanced Energy Systems Program to research the efficiency of coal-based power systems and enabling affordable, commercially viable CO

2 capture technologies.

It continues funding for many other research and development programs that will strengthen our energy future, not only by enabling us to produce energy more cost-effectively and more dependably but also with better environmental stewardship.

I will start to wrap up and turn the floor over to our esteemed colleague from the other side of the aisle and the outstanding Senators who are members of the committee who are here and looking to speak in support of this very important legislation, but I want to finish on the aspect I started on earlier.

We have passed all 12 appropriations bills out of committee. This is the fundamental work of the Senate, making sure we fund the government, we fund the enterprise we are talking about, and we do so within the budget that was duly and properly passed by this Senate and by this House--by the Congress. This is the work we need to do. That means we have to proceed to these bills, that we have to offer the opportunity for debate, the opportunity for amendments, debate those amendments, and vote. That is our job. That is our responsibility. That is how we get the work done for the American people who sent us to do just that.

This is good legislation. These bills were passed with bipartisan support. As I said in the case of this bill, 26 in favor, only 4 opposed. Let's get going. Let's get the work done we were sent to do.

With that, Mr. President, I yield the floor.

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