***WATCH: Senator Murray’s opening remarks***
***WATCH: Senator Murray’s questioning and exchange with witnesses***
Washington, D.C. — Today—at a Senate Appropriations Energy and Water Development subcommittee hearing on the fiscal year 2025 budget request for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation—U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, discussed the resources needed to meet key challenges in the upcoming year and again reiterated the need for Congress to provide robust non-defense resources to support both the Corps and Reclamation Bureau’s vital work.
“How we manage our water resources directly affects families, farmers, our food supply, and even our fish. And how well we manage our nation’s ports and harbors has major implications for our economy—as well as local ecosystems,” said Senator Murray, who then spoke about the importance of Congress delivering adequate non-defense resources to fund the critical work the Corps and Reclamation Bureau carry out. “I want to be clear that as we discuss additional resources to meet our country’s needs, I am going to be insisting on parity between any new resources for defense and non-defense. Because bottom line, our country’s strength, competitiveness, and future all depend on so many of the essential investments we make on the non-defense side of the ledger. Today’s hearing offers a stark reminder of how important so many of those non-defense investments are. That’s because water resources managed by the Bureau and the Corps alike irrigate crops, allow those crops—and other goods—to be transported to consumers here at home and all around the world. They help sustain keystone species like salmon in Washington state, provide water to over 31 million Americans, and even literally keep the lights on with hydroelectric power. So when it comes to our nation’s competitiveness, this is something we cannot take for granted.”
Senator Murray reiterated the importance of the Corps having the resources needed to clean up the Key Bridge and reopen the Port of Baltimore—and asked Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Michael L. Connor and Lieutenant General Scott A. Spellmon about how much funding is needed for the cleanup efforts and how much the Corps is able to reprogram funds to support the efforts.
Secretary Connor and Lt. General Spellmon both responded that cleanup work is about halfway done in the channel and given the complexity of the efforts, the Corps doesn’t have a fixed cost estimate at this moment in time. Secretary Connor noted that so far, the Corps has obligated around $36 million for the recovery efforts, is issuing another contract obligation installment this week, and that the existing source of funds it has used thus far is “almost exhausted” but the Corps has identified additional funds that it can reprogram and rely upon to see the cleanup through.
Senator Murray also asked about ongoing negotiations to update and modernize the Columbia River Treaty, noting that while an agreement could be reached soon, both the Corps and the Reclamation Bureau will have to change how they operate facilities in the Basin if there is not an agreement by September. She asked about the Corps’ efforts to upgrade its budget and execution software to be able to provide quarterly execution reports as other agencies do—and as the subcommittee requires. She also asked about how the Bureau of Reclamation is executing remaining Inflation Reduction Act balances to support drought mitigation and resiliency projects in the Yakima Basin in Washington state and what steps the Corps is taking to prevent cost overruns for critical flood projects.
Senator Murray’s opening remarks, as delivered, are below:
“We are here today to discuss President Biden’s fiscal year 2025 budget request for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation. I’m pleased to welcome our witnesses—who I’ll introduce shortly—to the subcommittee. And I am glad to be chairing a subcommittee that deals with so many issues that are incredibly important to folks back home in Washington state—and all across the country.
“How we manage our energy resources has tremendous implications for our economic strength and our national security.
“Likewise, how we manage our water resources directly affects families, farmers, our food supply, and even our fish.
“And how well we manage our nation’s ports and harbors has major implications for our economy—as well as local ecosystems.
“So I look forward to working with Ranking Member Kennedy, and all of our colleagues, to make sure these issues get the attention and funding they deserve.
“And today’s hearing is an important part of that process.
“Now, I have said from the start that I don’t think we can make the investments our nation truly needs under the constraints of the Fiscal Responsibility Act. I have listened as colleagues on the other side of the aisle have made the case for more defense funding.
“I want to be clear that as we discuss additional resources to meet our country’s needs, I am going to be insisting on parity between any new resources for defense and non-defense.
“Because bottom line, our country’s strength, competitiveness, and future all depend on so many of the essential investments we make on the non-defense side of the ledger.
“Today’s hearing offers a stark reminder of how important so many of those non-defense investments are.
“That’s because water resources managed by the Bureau and the Corps alike irrigate crops, allow those crops—and other goods—to be transported to consumers here at home and all around the world. They help sustain keystone species like salmon in Washington state, provide water to over 31 million Americans, and even literally keep the lights on with hydroelectric power.
“So when it comes to our nation’s competitiveness, this is something we cannot take for granted.
“For the sake of our economy, as well as our environment—we need to protect and maintain our waterways for wildlife to thrive, and for essential transportation to occur.
“We have to keep our water running and our ports bustling and our farms irrigated and our fish thriving and our electrical grid reliable.
“And these are investments in safety as well—we cannot shortchange safety.
“We need to make sure communities are safe and prepared for extreme weather events amid the worsening climate crisis with levees, seawalls, and nature-based infrastructure to prevent flooding.
“And let’s not forget drought mitigation.
“We are seeing this issue get worse and worse—with historic drought conditions in recent years.
“This is a challenge that ripples throughout our nation, hurting farmers, threatening families and wildlife with wildfires, and undermining our economy.
“So when we talk about investments for the year ahead, make no mistake: Water is just too important to our families, our economy, and our nation to take for granted.
“I am glad that—despite tough funding caps—we were able to deliver critical resources for both the Bureau and the Corps in the FY24 bill that Congress recently passed, including a historic funding level for the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund to keep our nation’s ports and harbors in good condition.
“Of course, I have been working hard to make sure Washington state ports get their fair share of the HMTF. For too long that hasn’t been the case, and even after I authored and passed legislation to fix this in 2020, I was frustrated to see the Army Corps’ Work Plan for FY23 fall short.
“I raised this several times with Corps’ leadership—including at our hearing last year—and included even more language in our FY24 bill on this matter, so I’m pleased that we are finally seeing real progress.
“The Work Plan the Army Corps released Monday shows a much-needed course correction.
“It implements the law as Congress intended it, which makes a meaningful difference for ports like the Port of Seattle and the Port of Tacoma—to the tune of $25 and $29 million from the HMTF this year alone.
“So, I appreciate you taking my calls, Assistant Secretary and working with me on this.
“Now, in addition to the Army Corps’ work plan, I should also mention how President Biden’s budget request shows he understands how important these issues are.
“I was especially pleased to see this budget includes $500 million for the Howard Hanson Dam fish passage project.
“Saving our salmon is a top priority for me because salmon are a way of life in Washington state.
“This project will open up over 100 miles of prime habitat for salmon and has the potential to produce more salmon than any other project in our region.
“That’s why I have worked so hard in our past bills to secure funding to move that forward, and I want to make sure we deliver the historic funding in this budget request so we can see this project through.
“And I look forward to hearing more from our witnesses about this work and more shortly.”
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