Date: 2006-05-24
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Chairman. I thank my colleague and also the Chair of the committee for bringing the bill up. I also want to thank my good friend from Indiana. Mr. Chairman. I rise in support of the legislation. I want to thank the subcommittee leadership for their inclusion of $43 million for the Houston Ship Channel Navigation project and for $13 million in operations and maintenance for the Houston Ship Channel. The navigation funding goes towards important environmental restoration work in the deepening and widening project. We are at the end of that project now. The operations and maintenance funding is not as much needed to keep the channel at its authorized depth. but I am concerned by the lack of O&M maybe not only for the channel but for others. Our problem is that if the channel silts up. those oil tankers that we bring in with crude oil to our refineries. we will have to offload or lighten them off the coast. and it will actually raise the price of our gasoline. The O&M is a concern that I have with gas prices so high. We dont really want to build all that extra cost into the refining. I also want to thank the committee for the portion of the 2005 Energy Policy Act. the Rocky Mountain Oilfield Testing Center in Wyoming. The energy bill last year authorized this funding. so we can actually drill horizontally 50.000 feet instead of what we currently do. Again. it is something that will help us to get more reasonably priced products. I do have some concern also about the lack of flood control funding. because I not only represent an energyproducing area.but we are also a lowlying area. The Corps $4.98 billion is a cut of $345 million from last year. but I am pleased the committee went above the Presidents budget by $250 million. I have three projects. Greens Bayou. Hunting Bayou and Halls Bayou. that were flooded with Allison in 2001. and we are on a road to try and get those so we dont have those massive floods like we did in 2001. I would hope that the committee would look at the costbenefit ratio so that we dont see those floods. These homes are not vacation homes. They are bluecollar folks homes that actually work at those refineries that were flooded in 2001. With that. Mr. Chairman. I would hope that the committee would look at those in the conference committee. Mr. Chairman.. I rise in support of this legislation. I do wish to thank the subcommittee leadership for their inclusion of $43 million for the Houston Ship Channel Navigation project and for $13 million in operation and maintenance for the ship channel. I have seriQus concerns with the lack of flood control funding for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The bill provides the Corps $4.98 billion. a cut of $345 million below last year. I am pleased that the Committee was able to go $250 million above the Presidents request. but unfortunately that increase was not enough. We requested funding for three federal flood control projects in our Harris County. TX. districtGreens Bayou. Hunting Bayou. and Halls Bayouand not one of these projects was funded. These projects Are all properly authorized. Congress has funded Greens Bayou and Hunting Bayou for many years in a row now. and the general reevaluation review for Greens Bayou is almost complete. We need only $488.000 more to finish it. We are told the subcommittee has a preference for completing existing projects and studies. As a result. I hope they will reconsider both of their decisions on Greens Bayou. which could have a completed study this year with funding. and Hunting Bayou. which is an ongoing construction project. The Greens Bayou project has a high 3.7 benefit to cost ratio. and in 2001. over 15.000 homes in this watershed flooded in Tropical Storm Allison. Hunting Bayou has already started construction and a cutoff of Federal funding threatens to put this project into danger of falling further behind schedule. The Hunting Bayou project will reduce the number of homes and businesses in the 100year flood plain by 85 percent. from 7.400. structures to 1.000. Eight thousand homes flooded in this area during Tropical Storm Allison as well. It is particularly shocking that these projects were zeroed out this year because these floodprone areas are now home to thousands of Katrina evacuees. I am very concerned that we are going into a cycle of increased hurricane activity at the same time that we are failing to make the necessary flood control investments for our coastal cities. Greens Bayou. Hunting Bayou. and Halls Bayou are not projects to protect vacation homes or homes in obvious flood hazard areas. Most of these. areas were outside the flood plain until upstream development expanded the flood plains. I do wish to thank the subcommittee leadership for their inclusion of $43 million for the Houston Ship Channel Navigation project and for $13 million in operations and maintenance for the ship channel. The navigation funding will go towards important environmental restoration work included in the deepening and widening project. keeping our commitment to our regions envirwnment and ecology strong. The O&M funding is not as much as needed to keep the channel at its authorized depth. and I would alert the committee that if the channel is silted up too much. oil tankers will have a hard time getting to the major gasoline refineries. With gas prices at the current high levels and supplies tight. we cannot risk another supply constraint. I also want to thank the committee for funding a portion of the 2005 Energy Policy Act: the research into extended reach drilling at the Rocky Mountain Oilfield Testing Center in Wyoming. This research promises to extend drilling up to 50.000 feet in three dimensions. which will allow us to recover more resources with fewer drill sites. Congresss interest in this project is justified because of its potential to reduce the environmental cost of oil and gas production. Mr. Chairman. I support the bill today. but I am making an urgent plea for flood control funding for Harris County. We dodged Hurricane Rita last year. over the next couple of years we may not be so lucky. We dont want to look back on the next few hurricane seasons with the same regrets as we did after Hurricane Katrina.