Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017

Floor Speech

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Mr. SIMPSON. 5055 and that I may include tabular material on the same.

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Mr. SIMPSON. Madam Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

It is my distinct honor to bring this fiscal year 2017 Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act before you today.

Before I go into the details, I would like to recognize the hard work of Chairman Rogers and Ranking Member Lowey on this bill and in the appropriations process in our trying to get back to regular order.

I would also like to thank my ranking member, Ms. Kaptur. I appreciate her help and her hard work on this bill. This bill is a better bill because of her input on this legislation.

The bill provides $37.4 billion for the activities of the Department of Energy, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Reclamation, and other agencies under our jurisdiction. This is $259 million more than last year's funding level and is $168 million above the budget request.

This is a responsible bill that recognizes the importance of investing in this Nation's infrastructure and national defense. As we do each year, we work hard to incorporate priorities and perspectives from both sides of the aisle.

The administration's proposal to cut the programs of the Army Corps of Engineers by $1.4 billion would have led to economic disruptions at our ports and waterways silted in and would have left our communities and businesses vulnerable to flooding. Instead, this bill recognizes the critical work of the Corps and provides $6.1 billion for those activities. This includes $1.8 billion for flood and coastal storm damage reduction projects. These projects prevented damages of $14.8 billion in 2014 alone. Harbor maintenance activities are funded at $1.26 billion, the same as last year, and $122 million more than the fiscal year 2017 target. The bill makes use of all estimated annual revenues from the Inland Waterways Trust Fund.

The Department of Energy's nuclear weapons program is funded at $9.3 billion, which is $438 million more than last year. This increase will support full funding for the stockpile life extension programs. It also includes an additional $106 million above the request to address the growing backlog of deferred maintenance and $30 million above the request to upgrade the security infrastructure where nuclear weapons material is stored. The recommendation for naval reactors is $1.4 billion, an increase of $45 million, and includes full funding for the Ohio-class replacement submarine.

A national energy policy can only be successful if it maintains stability while investing in a secure, independent, and prosperous energy future. This bill makes balanced investments in a true all-of- the-above energy strategy. This bill also takes a strong stand against the regulatory overreach and extreme application of laws that have been the hallmark of this administration.

The bill opposes the administration's actions with regard to the Clean Water Act and includes three provisions that prohibit changes to the definition of ``fill material,'' the definition of ``waters of the United States,'' and the permit requirement for certain agricultural activities.

The bill also includes several provisions to ensure that the Bureau of Reclamation maximizes water deliveries in California to help alleviate the drought while sustaining senior water rights and maintaining environmental protections.

This is a strong bill that will advance our national security interests and our economy, and I urge everyone to support it. [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH250516.001 [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH250516.002 [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH250516.003 [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH250516.004
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Mr. SIMPSON. Madam Chair, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Rogers), the chairman of the full committee that does a great job with this appropriations process.

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Mr. SIMPSON. Madam Chair, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Lance).

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Mr. SIMPSON. Madam Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. McCarthy), the distinguished majority leader.

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Mr. SIMPSON. Madam Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Costa).

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Mr. SIMPSON. Will the gentlewoman yield?

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Mr. SIMPSON. Madam Chair, I look forward to working with the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur), the ranking member, and our colleagues on the Committee on Energy and Commerce to see if we can find an appropriate path forward on this issue.

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Mr. SIMPSON. Madam Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gibson).

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Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. Chair, did the gentleman yield back his time?

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Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Let me just say that this is an important bill. It is an important bill for our economy, and it is an important bill for our defense.

I did want to say that I appreciate the staff and the hard work that they have put into this legislation, trying to address the requests of many Members. We have had something like--I can't remember the numbers--2300 different requests from Members for this piece of legislation, and we were able to address, in at least one form or another, about 95 percent of those requests. The staff works very hard to make this a bill that all Members can support.

It has been a pleasure working with the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur). She is from Ohio. I am from Idaho. We come from different States and have different perspectives and different points of view and different interests many times, and it is fun to sit in our hearings because oftentimes she brings up issues that I would have never thought of as we have people before us testifying, and I hope I do the same occasionally, too, and all our members do that. That is what really makes this process work.

That is why getting back to regular order and debating bills and marking them up and going to conference, as the Speaker and leader and minority leader have tried to do here, is so important.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

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