Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2014

Floor Speech

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Mr. CASSIDY. First, let's be clear, this is not just for Louisiana. This $2 million will be available nationwide.

And that said, I rise in support of this amendment. Budgets are about establishing priorities and then making wise use of scarce resources. We know with these scarce resources, $1 million in a planning grant, which later on will be funded to greater dollars, can actually save billions in hurricane repair.

So, if I may say, there is lots of money right now in the Corps. The fact is the Corps has even a larger backlog, and these projects are not $2 million to complete. It takes $500,000 to begin the NEPA process or the sampling of the soil or something like that. So small amounts of dollars at the beginning can initiate a process that comes to fruition with an authorization later on.

This is a national issue. Let me just speak just about Louisiana, because you could equally speak about your home State.

The gasoline that is sold in Philadelphia is produced in St. Charles Parish. If a hurricane knocks out that petrochemical plant, gasoline prices rise by 20 cents a gallon in the Northeast.

Now, you could say something similar in Ohio and Mr. Garamendi in California and others elsewhere. So we're not saying initiate a process which completely funds. We're saying give seed money so that community in California, Ohio, or Louisiana can begin the process where later on we can make a decision regarding greater funding.

We can, as Mr. Richmond said, either spend a little bit now and potentially save billions in the future or, on our budget priorities, we can say we're going to be penny-wise but pound-foolish.

I urge passage of the amendment. I thank my colleague for introducing it.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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