Providing for Consideration of H.R. 5427, Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 2007

PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 5427, ENERGY AND WATER DEVELOPMENT APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2007 -- (House of Representatives - May 23, 2006)

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Ms. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, today we consider the rule governing debate for the energy and water appropriations bill. The issues of energy and water are always important, but this year these issues are front and center of our national dialogue.

Over the past 9 months, the American people have seen the direct impact of water infrastructure on their day-to-day lives, from Hurricane Katrina's devastation of New Orleans and the gulf coast to the worst flooding the New England States have experienced in 70 years, and just this week NOAA announced the upcoming hurricane season will bring an increase in strong storms reaching land, category 3 and above.

In our communities, in our States, and every region of our country we are seeing the importance of flood protection. But we are also witnessing the growing strain on our already fragile water infrastructure. Yet even with this added pressure, our Nation's civil works programs do not see a corresponding increase in funding. These projects provide critical protections and we need to make investing in them a priority.

On repeated occasions you have heard me discuss the critical need to improve flood protection in my hometown of Sacramento.

In terms of lives and property, I recognize what is at stake. Sacramento has the dubious distinction of being the most at-risk river city in the Nation. I certainly understand the heightened concern that arrives with each rainfall. This year, our region has experienced an especially wet winter and wet spring. Each year we delay making these necessary investments is one more year of wondering what Mother Nature will bring.

Members of the committee attempted to make the most with its limited resources. They did improve on the President's budget. However, as Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Obey and Energy and Water Subcommittee Ranking Member Visclosky rightly pointed out, we still need an additional $250 million to protect vulnerable areas from flooding.

With these funds, the Army Corps of Engineers could speed up construction on a number of flood protection projects across the country. Additionally, they would be able to provide some support to the operation and maintenance of completed projects, as well as restore the Corps' research and development program.

As a Nation, we are at a crossroads. We can continue in a defensive position, responding to Mother Nature's whims as in New Orleans and recent storms in the northeast, or we can take the offensive, working to strengthen and reinforce our Nation's water infrastructure.

In my view, we must seek out opportunities like this to be proactive and not reactive, as Congress is beginning to do in science and investing in renewable energy sources.

I was pleased that the committee increased funding from last year's level for the Department of Energy's Office of Science. This will fund basic energy research, nuclear physics, as well as biological and environmental sciences. A 15 percent increase is a good start, but if we truly want to reverse the trend of the past few years, we need to make a greater investment in science and research and development.

I was home in Sacramento this past weekend and everyone was talking about rising gas and energy prices. The net effect for working families is perhaps a shorter vacation and perhaps not eating out at a restaurant. Escalating energy prices threaten not only the quality of life and pocketbook of every American but the very stability of our national economy.

We must do more as a Nation to develop energy alternatives. I believe that America must modernize its energy policy to decrease this Nation's dependence on foreign sources of oil and preserve the environment. To accomplish this, Congress must develop a strategic and forward-looking energy plan that places a high priority on new research into renewable fuels and greater energy efficiency.

Unfortunately, the programs this bill cut are the exact programs necessary to develop a national renewable energy portfolio for the 21st century. There are drastic reductions in funding for wind, solar and geothermal programs, some of the programs that must be grown if we are ever going to curb our reliance on oil. I am concerned that we are missing an opportunity to expand our energy alternatives.

As much as this Energy and Water Appropriations bill is about funding current needs, it is also about investing in the future. While I think the committee tried to the best of their abilities to do this, in the end, the tight funding constraints limited their ability to strike the necessary balance.

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Ms. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close.

Mr. Speaker, I will be calling for a ``no'' vote on the previous question. If the previous question is defeated, I will amend the rule so that we can consider the Visclosky amendment that was rejected in the Rules Committee tonight on a straight party-line vote.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of the amendment and extraneous material immediately prior to the vote.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentlewoman from California?

There was no objection.

Ms. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, the Visclosky amendment would provide $250 million for a number of ongoing flood projects that are not funded in the bill. It also adds $750 million for research into alternative sources of energy, such as coal, ethanol, and biodiesel, that would reduce or eliminate our dependence on foreign oil. The spending increase in the Visclosky amendment is offset by reducing by 2.4 percent the tax cut received by people earning more than $1 million a year.

Mr. Speaker, this amendment deals with two urgent national priorities. It puts our money where our mouth is when we say our country needs to diversify our energy supply, increase energy efficiency, and reduce our addiction to foreign oil. With the hurricane season approaching, it puts more resources into the major flood control projects that would protect our property and our lives.

Mr. Speaker, it is important for Members to know that a ``no'' vote will not prevent us from considering the energy and water appropriation bill under an open rule. But a ``no'' vote will allow Members to vote on the Visclosky amendment.

Vote ``no'' on the previous question.

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