Water Resources Development Act of 2018

Floor Speech

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Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Chair, I rise to offer an amendment.

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Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Chairman, I am offering an amendment to expedite the Army Corps of Engineers' study of Superstorm Sandy recovery efforts, allowing a faster response to dangerous and economically damaging beach erosion in my district and the Rockaway Peninsula.

To this day, my constituents suffer from the after-effects of Hurricane Sandy. Though coastal recovery has contributed to positive economic development, the very same jobs created are now threatened by emergency beach closures.

Two weeks ago, only days ahead of beach season, of the beaches opening, 11 of our beaches' central blocks were deemed unsafe due to erosion, by the city of New York and all of the lifeguards therein. As a result, it will be crippling to the vendors, whose entire livelihood depends on their seasonal income.

Last year alone, there were four nor'easters that further devastated our beachfront. We have already allocated funding for the Army Corps of Engineers to begin constructing coastal protections and prevent further erosion. However, construction is not due to begin until 2019.

In that time, beaches will be left vulnerable to coastal erosion, threatening more closures, and impacting more jobs and economic activity in my district. This should be of concern to all taxpayers.

After Sandy, the Army Corps of Engineers dumped two Empire State Buildings' worth of sand on our beach for coastal recovery. Stalled efforts to address resiliency issues, such as this study, are allowing millions of Federal dollars to be literally washed away.

Mr. Chair, my constituents cannot wait until 2019 for construction of reinforced dunes, groynes, and jetties. The studies must be allowed to be improved and completed in a timely manner so as to not leave our beachgoers unsafe or our economy vulnerable.

While I will continue to push for a remedy for this summer--I am going to push to try to save some of it--it is my hope that by expediting this process, the beaches will be made safe and operational for my constituents as soon as possible, and certainly no later than spring season of 2019.

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Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Chair, I thank the chairman and the ranking member from California for their understanding.

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

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