Conference Report on H.R. 2862, Science, State, Justice, Commerce, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2006

CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 2862, SCIENCE, STATE, JUSTICE, COMMERCE, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2006 -- (House of Representatives - November 09, 2005)

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Mr. DOGGETT. Madam Speaker, I thank the Gentleman for yielding me this time, and I thank him and the Chairman of the Committee for their long labors on what is a $57.8 billion bill.

My concern is with what many might view as a mere footnote to this bill, the budget of a tiny federal agency that gets not billions, but only $5.3 million, with an ``m,'' out of this huge budget. But the budget of that tiny federal agency and a whim of nature are all that stand between tens of thousands of Texans along the southern tip of our country and disaster.

These are hard-working people along the Lower Rio Grande River Valley in one of the economically poorest parts of this country. But the threat of disaster to them is every bit as real as what we saw played out on our screens in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.

This bill fails to deal adequately with that problem. I believe that the Committee recognized the Valley's need in the language that it added to the report that accompanies this bill. I cannot fault the Committee, though I do not agree with the result. This report includes the same dollar amount that the House had already approved and the Senate had already approved, which is 100 cents on the dollar of what President Bush requested. But the amount of money requested is not an adequate amount to protect people from a very real danger.

As the conferees noted in the report, and I quote: ``The conferees recommend that the Commission increase funding for the Lower Rio Grande Valley Flood Control Project above the $2,200,000 contained in the President's budget request. Studies by the U.S. Section of the IBWC conclude that the Rio Grande Valley levees are deficient in height, geologically flawed, and structurally unsound. The conferees expect the administration in the upcoming budget cycle to request sufficient funds to address these needs.''

And while that language is important, it does not provide the dollars necessary to fix this problem. It is language similar to that adopted by the Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Council, composed of all the governments in the three counties at the very tip of the United States where it borders Mexico.

In asking for $10 million in construction moneys every year, they said, ``Without necessary improvements, the levee system could be overtopped or fail structurally at various locations, leaving thousands homeless and creating extensive property and environmental damage to the region.''

After a period of cronyism at the IBWC, well-documented by the General Accountability Office, President Bush replaced his first failed appointee with an acting appointee. We had the USIBWC's Acting Commissioner down in the Rio Grande Valley last month. He said in a meeting there that he needed $10 million a year, not for the agency, but for construction, and a total of $125 million over 10 or 11 years in order to solve this problem. Madam Speaker, $2.2 million is about a fifth of what is needed in construction every year for the next 10 years if we are going to resolve this problem.

Earlier this year, we had Hurricane Emily. It hit about 35, 50 miles south of the area that I am talking about. It was a mere Category 1, yet it caused extensive flooding along some of these levees. As all of America knows, we have had so many hurricanes this year, we have run out of names, and it is forecast to only get worse this year and the year after that as we go through this cycle in the Gulf of one hurricane after another.

If we have even a category 3 hurricane, we will overtop these levees along 38 miles. If we have a Hurricane 5 like Katrina, it will be 102 miles that are overwhelmed. This is just one small section along the Rio Grande.

But I just want it clear that this administration and this Congress has in living color the recommendations of their own agency showing where the levees will be topped up to 9 feet over the existing levees; 6, 5, 4, 3 feet, whatever it is, it is an amount of water pouring over these levees. While we can talk about categories of hurricanes and whether it is a 5 or a 4 or a 3 and follow the tracking on television, what we have had from this Administration since Katrina for the poor people of the Rio Grande Valley is a ``Category 0'' effort, and it is that effort that has to be changed either in the supplemental appropriation they currently have under consideration, or in next year's appropriations bill, because every day we wait, exposes tens of thousands of people to considerable danger.

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Mr. WOLF. Madam Speaker, I see the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett), and if he would not leave the floor, I just wanted to comment on what he was commenting on, so I yield myself such time as I may consume.

In the report on that Commission, and Mr. Doggett spoke to me about it, what you said did not kind of jibe completely with regard to our conversation. But the statement accompanying the conference report says, ``Within the amount for the water quality program, the conferees recommend that the Commission increase funding for the Lower Rio Grande Flood Control Project above the $2.2 million contained in the budget request.'' So we did ask for them to go above the request.

Secondly, we say ``Studies by the U.S. section of the IBWC conclude that Rio Grande Valley levees are deficient in height, geologically flawed, and structurally unsound. The conferees expect the administration in the upcoming budget cycle to request sufficient funds to address these needs. Also, the conference directs that $250,000 be made available for the Rio Grande Canal Project.'' This is an increase over the construction amount.

Secondly, we plan on doing a letter, because the country of Mexico is involved. Texas ought to be involved, but by torching something, it does not always get it done. I think it has to kind of come together.

Mr. DOGGETT. Madam Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. WOLF. I yield to the gentleman from Texas.

Mr. DOGGETT. Madam Speaker, the language the gentleman quotes is the same language that I quote. I applaud the committee for adding that in there.

The problem is that the total amount of money for the agency was not changed, and to get any more than $2.2 million, they will be taking it out of existing projects that they have on the Colorado River. And the head of the agency is saying they need five times as much as the President asked for.

Mr. WOLF. Who did they say that to? Is that in writing somewhere?

Mr. DOGGETT. Yes, I think it is in writing. It is in the cost estimates or in the reports that have already been forwarded up to the State Department. But I do not think they were ever forwarded to the committee.

I applaud the committee concerns about this and the language that they added, and I am glad the gentleman will be submitting further letters and the like, because this is a small part of this budget, but a big problem for our folks. And they get out of this, even if they go from $2.2 to $3 million, only about a third of what the agency itself says is needed, not just this year, but each year for the next 10 years.

Mr. WOLF. Well, we are going to do a letter. I would urge the gentleman to get a meeting to get the commission to come up to your office. We will have a staff person come by. Also get the State of Texas, also do not forget about Mexico, to get them to come by and try to bring it to a head. I think that is a more constructive way than just saying this bill is not very good. I thought we had with this language forced them to address the issue. We will send a letter.

But if this were my congressional district, I would have them up here. I would ask the State Department to come down and walk with you. I would go to Mexico and be on the other side. I would have a letter to President Vicente Fox. I would have a letter to Secretary Rice. So there is a lot that you have to do.

Mr. DOGGETT. If the gentleman will yield, let me just assure him I have done all those things short of walking in Mexico because this only covers the cost of repairing the U.S. side of the levees. It does not concern any repairs to the Mexican side.

Mr. WOLF. What do they do? What does Mexico do?

Mr. DOGGETT. Well, Mexico, I think if they see that we are moving to raise the levees on the American side, they will be caused to take action on the Mexican side. This is simply, the cost that I have talked about is only the U.S. side of the levees. It is not the Mexican side of the levees. That is their responsibility to act on that.

Mr. WOLF. But if it goes on one side does that not impact on the other side?

Mr. DOGGETT. That is why I say, naturally, the kind of budget challenges they face in Mexico, if they say we are raising our side to meet this flood problem, we believe that they will act to raise it on their side also.

Mr. WOLF. Well, I would like to challenge the gentleman to really pull together. I will try to come to the meeting or get some staff people to come. Bring in the Mexican ambassador. Do something rather than just coming down and doing that. But do something. Get the Mexican ambassador to come on in. Have somebody from the State Department. Bring them on up. Go down there. Walk it. Do everything you possibly can, because you certainly do not want something to happen whereby people die in a flood.

Mr. DOGGETT. I accept that challenge already having done most of that. It has not just been my request, but the request of three of us, four of us, actually, from the Rio Grande Valley to the President and to the State Department, and we have been unable to get any movement from them. And I understand we need their cooperation in order for your committee to move forward. Thank you for your interest.

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