Water Resources Development Act of 2018

Floor Speech

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Mr. JOYCE of Ohio. Mr. Chair, I thank Chairman Shuster for his tireless work on this bill and for the fantastic job he has done throughout his career as the chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Our Nation owes him a lot for his fine work.

My amendment requires the Army Corps to complete its final report for the Brandon Road Study by February 2019, which is the originally established deadline. The purpose of the Brandon Road Study is to evaluate options and technologies near the Brandon Road Lock and Dam site to prevent aquatic invasive species from reaching the Great Lakes; in particular, the Asian carp.

The study began in 2015. We were supposed to see the draft report by January of last year. It was delayed 6 months. We cannot afford any more delays. The sooner the final report is released, the sooner we can begin to implement methods and technologies that will keep the invasive Asian carp out of the lakes, which account for more than 20 percent of the world's fresh surface water supply.

Asian carp would devastate the ecosystem and the economy of the Great Lakes region. Studies show the impacts would include declines in native fish species and a one-third reduction of the total fish weight in Lake Erie.

We need to ensure that the Brandon Road Study is released by the February of 2019 deadline so we can move forward with the recommendations from the study and stop the invasive Asian carp from infiltrating one of the Nation's most critical water resources.

Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support my amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. JOYCE of Ohio. Mr. Chairman, I urge the support of my amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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