Water Resources Development Act of 2022

Floor Speech

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Ms. MALLIOTAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support this legislation that includes my language to secure additional funds for the Staten Island seawall to protect my constituents from a future hurricane.

In October, it will be 10 years since Hurricane Sandy devastated parts of New York City. Particularly hard-hit was my borough of Staten Island, where 24 lives were lost, hundreds of families were displaced, and thousands of homes were damaged.

Since the project's approval in 2013, bureaucratic red tape resulted in costly redesigns and repeated delays. This vital flood mitigation project is long overdue, and I made a commitment that when I came to Congress I would get it back on track.

In February, the city and Federal Governments came to an agreement on the radiation clean-up in Great Kills Park, which will allow for construction on the project's levee, floodwall, and tide gate.

This fall, the contract for the first phase is expected to be issued so we can break ground on the drainage portion in South Beach and finally begin this long-awaited project that is critical to the livelihoods of my constituents, and will help reduce flood insurance costs.

Today, we will ensure that the project will be fully funded through this bill. I thank my colleagues for their support of this legislation.

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