OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2026

Floor Speech

Date: Sept. 3, 2025
Location: Washington, DC

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Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Chairman, I thank our ranking member, Ms. Kaptur, for the time, but also agree with her in urging my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this really terrible bill.

Today, we are debating one of the worst Energy and Water appropriations bills I have ever seen. Usually, when you are in charge, they are very good, actually, but this one is terrible.

I think it sets a dangerous precedent. It hurts our constituents by increasing their energy costs, just as so many are already seeing huge hikes to their bills. It weakens national security, and it undermines the critical work that the Army Corps of Engineers does to keep our coastal communities safe.

Mr. Chairman, I will focus on the cuts to shore protection. Republicans are making a massive cut to the shore protection funding that allows the corps to fund beach replenishment projects in places like the Jersey shore in my district.

This Republican bill woefully underfunds replenishment projects by hundreds of millions of dollars. Just recently, Hurricane Erin slammed our coasts, washing away dunes and eroding beaches, a stark reminder of why replenishment funding is so critical.

Mr. Chairman, House Republicans are abandoning coastal communities at a time when climate change is accelerating erosion and increasing the risks of devastating storms.

I have to stress that beach replenishment projects and shore protection projects aren't luxuries. They are lifelines. We don't do them so people can sunbathe. We do them to protect the homes, the businesses, and the public infrastructure.

Towns in my district and in red and blue districts throughout our country alike depend on beach replenishment to prevent damage from coastal storms. It is that simple.

We can't let a bunch of climate-denying Republicans in Congress gamble with New Jersey or other coastlines. I think about it like a slot machine on the Atlantic City boardwalk: We will just hope that the storm doesn't come, and we will be okay.

Mr. Chairman, that is not what happens. The reality is that places like the Jersey shore need protection from the next big storm and making drastic cuts like these are simply dangerous.

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