Garret Graves

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Chairman, I would just like to follow up on the chairman of the committee's comments. The 2007 cite that Chairman Shuster referenced goes back to actually a WRDA 1999 provision. I believe it is section 212 of WRDA 1999 that actually provides the study and project implementation authorization. The 2007 language that was cited amends the 1999 language. So these projects were previously addressed by Congress. I want to say it again, Mr. Chairman. We have a backwards policy in regard to Federal disasters where we come in and spend billions of dollars after a disaster instead of spending millions of dollars before, making our communities more resilient. I am going to say it again. Thirteen people died here. We have incredible financial uncertainty and folks' inability to get back in their homes because they may be faced with a $100,000 or more cost to elevate these slabs to come into compliance with the new base flood elevation. By expediting these projects, we can eliminate that financial uncertainty and we can get people back in their homes and restore our community as quickly as possible. I urge adoption of the amendment. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 544, I was in discussions on Louisiana flood relief funding. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, August 20th of this year was a Saturday, and I was in Denham Springs, Louisiana. I was gutting a home, ripping out Sheetrock, tearing out floors, throwing out furniture, throwing out photo albums, appliances, and family heirlooms. Mr. Speaker, I did it in a home and literally stripped out every foot of Sheetrock in the house, from the floor to the ceiling and ripped out all the floors. Everything in the house was gutted down to the studs. This was a house where a woman, who recently retired in June or July of this year, was living. She has been living there since the early 1970s. Never has she had even a single foot of water in her house or a single inch of water in her house. Yet, on the floods that we had in south Louisiana around August 11th, this home received over 6 feet of water in the entire home, everything. Outside the house, we stacked up piles of debris from 6 to 8 feet high. I call it debris, but in reality it was memories. It was that woman's life that was piled up in the street. Everything that she owned was thrown out. Mr. Speaker, we had a storm that was a 1,000-year event. We experienced over 31 inches of rain in some of the peak areas in 36 hours. To translate that to snow, you are talking about 25 feet of snow. To my friends from the North, that is what we experienced the equivalent of in just 36 hours. This is on track to be the fourth most costly flood disaster in United States history, and, again, it was a 1,000-year storm. Now, this happened in south Louisiana last month, but this could happen anywhere. Whether it is a snowstorm, it is a blizzard, it is a tsunami, it is an earthquake, it is a tornado or it is a terrorist attack, it could happen anywhere in this country. Now, historically when these catastrophic events have happened, the country has stepped up to provide assistance. Whether it is September the 11th, Hurricane Sandy, Hurricane Katrina or other disasters, the Nation has stepped up whenever these disasters have crossed over into catastrophic territory. In this instance, we have had over 100,000 homes and businesses flooded. So that story I told about the home that we went in and stripped and gutted--one of many homes that we worked in--you can multiply that same exact scenario tens of thousands of times over. Now, in this particular case, this house is probably worth $150,000, maybe. It is probably going to cost them $80,000 to rebuild the house to get it back. It is going to cost them $30,000 to replace the car that they lost. It is going to cost them $20,000 to replace their clothes and contents of the house. Because this home is in a floodplain--at the time when it was built, it was not, but now it is--it is going to probably cost them $100,000 to elevate that concrete slab and lift it up to the higher-base foot elevation. You can do the math. You are talking about over $200,000 just to get themselves back to where they were the day before this storm. I am going to say it again, Mr. Speaker, this is happening in south Louisiana. While the water has receded, their lives remain upside down, and it is hundreds of thousands of households. This is a parochial issue to me. It is my hometown. It is my community. It is my neighbors. It is my relatives. But the next disaster, whether it is next week, next year, next month, next decade, it is going to be in your town. It is going at your home. It is going to be your relatives, your neighbors. The American people need to know that when we have a catastrophic disaster like this, that the country is there to offer a hand up. Let me lay out this financial scenario. I talked about the $200,00 for this one homeowner, not including the other businessowners and others that are affected by this disaster. Because of HUD rules and some of the rules put in place by the mortgage companies, folks are going to have to make a decision on whether they are going to have their home foreclosed upon or they are going to try to get out of this financial predicament that they are in by the beginning of November. A $2.6 billion budget request has been made to offer a hand up to these people that rescued themselves, sheltered themselves, cooked for themselves, and gutted their own homes. Now is the time for America to offer a hand up, just like we have done in the past and just like we need to let other Americans know we are going to do for them in the event of a crisis like this. Mr. Speaker, lastly I want to say this: This was somewhat unique in that the Federal interstate held 6 feet of water back, therefore, further inundating people. The Comite River project and other flood control projects, which the Federal Government failed to construct after 30 years, and coastal land loss also contributed to this flood disaster. Now is the time for us to act. November, December timeframes are too late. This needs to be part of our negotiations right now to offer certainty and to assure Americans in the future that we are going to be there to offer them a hand up.

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, yesterday I had the opportunity to come and update the House on the flooding conditions in the State of Louisiana. I talked about how this is, potentially, the fourth most costly flood disaster in U.S. history. Louisiana received 31 inches of rain in a 36-hour period, which is what the American average rainfall is. It would translate to nearly 25 feet of snow if it were a snowstorm. Mr. Speaker, I want to put this in a personal context. Think about a person who owns a $200,000 house. That person's house is now worth $100,000 because it is flooded and gutted. That person is going to have to pay $120,000 to finish his mortgage, which means he is upside down on his mortgage. It is going to cost him $80,000 to rebuild his house, $40,000 to replace his car, $10,000 to replace his wardrobe. Mr. Speaker, the Stafford Act is insufficient to address these financial situations that people are facing today. This isn't one person. This is tens of thousands of homeowners and businessowners across south Louisiana who are facing this impossible financial decision before them in the coming weeks. I urge the White House to immediately send a supplemental appropriations request to the Congress. Let's get working on this and resolve this issue. Make this an easy decision for folks back home so we can get back on our feet.

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to give an update from home. I represent south Louisiana. A few weeks ago, we had a rainfall event that has been categorized as a 1,000-year storm. Mr. Speaker, in some areas of south Louisiana we received 31 inches of rain. To put that in perspective, that would take 5 years for the city of Bakersfield, California, to achieve that number. That would take 10 years for the city of Yuma, Arizona, to receive that level of rain. For those Americans that haven't realized they can live in the pleasure of the subtropics and you live up north, to translate that to snowfall, that is the equivalent of a 25-foot snowstorm; a storm that leaves 25 feet of snow. This is categorized, again, as a 1,000-year event: 31 inches of rain in, in some cases, as short as perhaps 36 hours. Mr. Speaker, we have areas that have never, ever flooded, never seen water, never retained or held water in any way, shape, or form, that dealt with several feet of water in their homes and businesses. In Livingston Parish, Louisiana, it is estimated that 86 percent of the homes and 91 percent of the businesses were flooded. This has been a devastating event for many folks in our community. Mr. Speaker, as we move forward, certainly the Stafford Act, the Federal disaster law, has a role in helping our communities to recover. But what happened when this storm first came about and the flooding began is that it wasn't the Stafford Act or FEMA that came to the rescue. It was our neighbors, it was our community, many of which were flooded themselves. They got their own boats and went out and rescued folks and rescued their neighbors to the tune of thousands and thousands of people rescued by what we deem the Cajun Navy. I had a chance to go out there in my own kayak and paddle board and rescue dozens of folks that were trapped in their homes. Mr. Speaker, it didn't stop there. When shelters weren't open and weren't available, Cajun Navy shelters opened up. People just opened up their own homes and businesses to shelter those that were homeless. We had Cajun Navy chefs, many of which just for the first time deemed or designated themselves chefs, that cooked tens of thousands of meals not for compensation or because they were told to do so. They did it because we had friends and neighbors that were hungry and that were homeless. So we cooked for those folks. And it didn't stop there. We had a cadre of folks that we deemed the Cajun Army that have come together and helped to gut and de-muck thousands and thousands of homes across south Louisiana, again, Mr. Speaker, not because they were compelled to do so by any requirement or compensation. They were compelled to do so out of their selflessness, out of their generosity, and out of their hospitality. Mr. Speaker, we are now at a point to where the volunteerism, the hospitality, the generosity of our community is going to be exceeded. The needs are going to be greater than we can volunteer ourselves out of. We have thousands and thousands of homeowners across south Louisiana that are facing this scenario. They have a home that may be worth $200,000 but, because it was flooded and is entirely gutted now, it may be worth just half that. They may have a mortgage balance that is in excess of the value of the home, which means they are upside down in their mortgage. But that is not all. They have lost both of their cars, adding tens of thousands of dollars to the equation. They have to rebuild their home, which adds tens or maybe even six figures of liability. They have to replace their clothes, their wardrobe. And in some cases, their employers are under water; therefore, they don't even have a way of making money. Mr. Speaker, we are not a community that sits around and asks for a handout. That is not what we do. But in this case, I will say it again: as generous, as hospitable, as selfless as our community has been, we are now at a point to where we are unable to address the needs. Again, the Stafford Act works in most disasters. This one is an anomaly. This is an extraordinary disaster. I am looking forward to working with colleagues on both sides of the aisle moving forward on tailoring a recovery package for this region. This is estimated or projected to be the fourth most costly flood event in U.S. history. It is an extraordinary event that, unfortunately, has not received the national media attention that most disasters of this nature would. Disasters are awful. At some point, everyone in this country is going to experience some type of disaster--a flood, a tornado, a hurricane, an earthquake, a terrorist attack, or something else. When you have these catastrophic events, it is time for us to come together as a Nation to offer a helping hand. I am looking forward, again, to working with colleagues across the country to do that.

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, for the last 2 weeks, many across our Nation have been preparing the children for school. They have been preparing to end their summer vacation. In our home State of Louisiana, nearly 500,000 of our citizens have been affected by a 1,000-year flood event, causing extraordinary ruin for our families and businesses, everything inundated. Everything that people own--family heirlooms, photo albums, hard disk drives, and generations of work--has been destroyed. We lost 13 of our fellow citizens, at least, with more perhaps to be found. Today, hundreds of thousands across south Louisiana are sifting through what remains of their belongings, facing imminent and extraordinary financial decisions and life-altering decisions. We stand here in this Chamber today, as their representatives, and ask you to join us in a moment of silence and to keep them in our prayers.

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 481, I was detained discussing flood recovery efforts in Louisiana. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, my fourth grader's homework is online. We go up on a Web site and pull down homework. My ninth grader can check out books from the library and download it to his Kindle. Our 6-year-old takes my iPhone and sends text messages, unbeknownst to me, to her aunts and uncles. Everything is now evolving to online--everything is. Mr. Speaker, the reality is that there is this reputation that the Federal Government has that we are incredibly inefficient and behind the times, and unfortunately that reality is well earned. Everything is going online now. We can go on different Web sites and have things delivered to our homes the same day or the next day. We can order things online and go to stores and go pick them up. That is how the world is evolving, and what the online presence does is it provides for transparency. Now, this bill addresses offshore lease sales. What are offshore lease sales? That is the second largest revenue stream for the United States Treasury after taxes. It is a huge revenue stream. By some estimates, it has exceeded $200 billion in revenues for the United States Treasury. What this bill is designed to do is to bring us into the 21st century, to allow for potential bidders to go online to broaden access, to allow for the taxpayer's resource, the American public's resource, to have more bidders, to have more competition to ultimately make sure that the full value of that resource is realized by taxpayers. I very much appreciate the gentleman from California (Mr. Lowenthal), my good friend, being our lead cosponsor on this bill, showing that this is a bipartisan bill, that we have strong support from very diverse ideologies across the country. Mr. Speaker, I just want to reiterate the fact that this simply puts it online. It simply allows for better access for information. This is an asset that belongs to the American public. It is worth billions and billions of dollars. It should have transparency in how the process takes place, in the amount that bidders put forth, the amount that bidders bid for different auctions or lease sales. I think it is very important. Lastly, Mr. Speaker, I also want to make note of this. What this does, this whole transparency and openness and improved value and competition, it complements the public process because, Mr. Speaker, related to this last lease sale, lease sale 248, there were 18 opportunities for public participation, public comment, public meetings, 18 separate opportunities through the development of the lease sale, the development of the EIS, the development of the 5-year plan. So this complements all of that transparency and doesn't allow this to be done only by folks who can afford to go buy a plane ticket and go down into this facility, but that everyone can participate; and it allows for that public access to this last stage in the process that complements this very open and transparent process that takes place prior to. So, Mr. Speaker, I want to urge support for H.R. 5577. I think this is in the best interest of taxpayers. This is in the best interest of transparency and, certainly, the public.

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Chairman, I want to provide some context here. Under the Mineral Leasing Act, States shared in 50 percent of the revenues from production of energy on Federal lands--in the State of Alaska, it is actually 90 percent of the revenues--up until 2006, when we reached a bipartisan agreement to share not 50 percent, not 90 percent, but 37\1/2\ percent of the revenues associated with offshore energy production. 2006. The revenue sharing, in effect, doesn't actually turn on until next year. These funds in the State of Louisiana are dedicated by our constitution to restoring the coast, restoring our coastal wetlands, improving the sustainability of our communities that have been pounded by hurricanes in recent years. Mr. Chairman, this amendment is actually designed to save taxpayers dollars to restore our coastal ecosytem that has been destroyed. And to allow the administration year after year to come in and create this air of uncertainty by attempting to rescind these funds and treating us differently than they treat all the other States that produce onshore is simply bad policy and it creates uncertainty for efforts to restore coastal Louisiana, which has lost 1,900 square miles as a result of Federal actions in the State of Louisiana. I urge adoption of this amendment.

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Chair, I appreciate the gentleman from Louisiana for yielding and also for bringing up this amendment. Let's talk about reality versus fiction. Here is the reality. The reality is that these regulations have not been out there. They were not subject to investigations and studies. I was the lead trustee for the State of Louisiana. I was the tip of the spear who was fighting BP during the entire Deepwater Horizon, and I was the natural resource manager for the coast of Louisiana under which over 600 miles of our coast was oiled. I appreciate the gentleman for stepping in and trying to defend our environment and our resources. For the constituents whom I represent who lost family members, the reality is this: 60 percent of the wells since the Deepwater Horizon couldn't even be drilled under this proposed rule. The reality is that the Department of the Interior's cost estimate said it was going to cost $883 million to comply with when a private study said it was going to be $93 billion. The reality is this: you have a bunch of bureaucrats who are sitting around in a vacuum who have no idea what they are doing and who are proposing things under the auspices of safety but that actually threaten the lives of our citizens in south Louisiana who are producing energy for this Nation--in fact, approximately 17 percent of the energy for the United States.

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the gentleman from Louisiana for bringing this amendment up. Here is the reality. This is largely a solution in search of a problem. There has not been a single case in the history of offshore energy production where the government has been left holding the bag. It doesn't exist. So, yes, we should be working together. Representing one of the most ecologically productive coastal areas in the United States, we are very concerned about what happens with our coastal area. But, again, we are proposing solutions in search of problems. All this is going to do is it is going to result in a decrease in competition for offshore energy production, a decrease in competition, and a decrease in revenue for the United States Treasury. This funds the Land and Water Conservation Fund, something that your side often stands up for and fights for. This has provided nearly $200 billion for the United States Treasury, one of the largest revenue streams for the United States Government outside of taxes. Mr. Chairman, I urge support of this amendment. This policy, this notice to lessees, is ill-advised. It simply has been done in the dark of night, and it is a solution in search of a problem.

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Randy Lanoix of Donaldsonville, Louisiana, as he nears the end of his term as the 111th Chairman of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America, also known as the Big ``I.'' Randy was installed as Chairman of the Big ``I'' in September 2015, and he has been a strong, thoughtful and charismatic leader for independent insurance agents across the country. Randy has a strong track record in the independent agency system, serving as president of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of Louisiana (IIABL) in 2001 and as the Louisiana representative on the Big ``I'' national Board of Directors from January 2005 to September 2010. He received the Lou Daniel award, which is the highest honor bestowed by the IIABL, in 2010. Randy is also a past recipient of the ``Mr. Chairman'' award for his work as Louisiana's legislative chairman and his work with the Louisiana state legislature. On the national level, Lanoix has served on the Professional Liability Committee, the Trusted Choice ' Board of Directors, numerous task forces, and two terms on the Government Affairs Committee, where he was chairman of State Government Affairs. In these leadership positions, Randy has always sought to promote an environment where independent agents, in both Louisiana and across the country, can continue to thrive in their business and represent their customers. Randy is the owner of the Lanoix Insurance Agency in Port Allen, Louisiana which is located in my congressional district. He has been married to his wife Nell for more than 36 years, and they have two sons, Bryan and David, who work in the family agency alongside their father. Their family also includes daughters-in-law Leslie and Michelle along with their grandson Brooks and their granddaughter Riley. I am pleased to join Randy's colleagues from across Louisiana and the nation in congratulating him as he finishes his term as Chairman of the Big ``I.''

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman yielding, and I appreciate him bringing this up. Mr. Speaker, I really regret the fact that this has devolved into a big partisan debate or a big partisan discussion. Everyone in this Chamber supports the concept of infrastructure investment. That is not what this is about. That is not what this is about. All of us support infrastructure investment, and all of us agree that we have underfunded infrastructure, that we need more investment in infrastructure. In my home State, in Baton Rouge, in the capital region, we have the worst traffic in the Nation for a midsize city. Our people sit in traffic an average of 47 hours above the national average at home. It is ridiculous. Here is what is going on right now. Here is what is going on. The gas tax was set up to be a user fee. It was set up to be a user fee that the more you drove, the more you used the roads, the more you paid for it. That is the way that this is supposed to work. What has happened is that the President has come out and offered a proposal that disconnects the user fee. We support a user fee model. We support lock-boxing the dollars and making sure that they are dedicated to infrastructure as opposed to what has happened, for example, another issue that the sponsor of this legislation has worked on--the harbor maintenance trust fund--where billions of dollars have been charged on the auspices of one thing and diverted to something else. We support infrastructure investment. Now, what is going on right now is we are seeing this continuation of policies out of this administration that is contrary to American interests, and I want to explain that. You see, Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from Oregon State probably--and I haven't verified this--but probably depended upon the State of Louisiana, one of the top producers of oil and gas in this country, to power their cars, to power their vehicles, and to power their airplanes that they fly back and forth from Washington, D.C., to the West Coast. We provide that. But at home, in our State of Louisiana, we have lost one-third of our oil and gas jobs. We are killing this industry because of overregulation. Something that just shocks me is, last year, we listened to the Secretary of State, John Kerry, stand up and say: We need to allow Iran to export their oil so their economy can recover. Our Secretary of State said that. Yet, at the same time, at home, in Louisiana, we were prohibited from exporting our oil. Why in the world would we treat Iran better than Louisiana, better than Texas, better than Oklahoma, and all of these energy-producing States across the United States? So do you know what we did? After opposition from the White House, we finally lifted the 40-year-old oil export ban. So what happens? Within a month and a half, we get a proposal from the President to put a $10.25-a-barrel tax on American oil. What does that do? If we try and take our oil out to global markets, we are immediately met with a premium of 30 to 40 percent over global prices. It further kills our industry. It further kills our domestic production that we have lost one-third of the jobs on. And I know everybody wants to see us fly solar airplanes. It is not happening right now. We need to continue to rely on these fuels moving forward. This should not be a partisan debate. We support infrastructure investment. It needs to continue to be a user fee. We should not divorce it from a user fee, and we should not do it in a way that is going to kill our energy industry in the United States to further increase our reliance upon foreign energy sources. It is a flawed policy. This is consistent with what we saw last year when the President of the United States was standing up and saying, ``Give us free trade authority. We need the ability to engage in free trade because we can outcompete other countries,'' and, at the exact same time, standing up and overregulating our economy to where we send American workers out there in the workforce trying to compete with these other countries with our arms tied behind our back. These policies aren't consistent, and they are not in the interest of the United States. I agree with the gentleman from Oregon; we need to work together. We need to work together in a bipartisan manner to come up with a new user fee concept to get us additional dollars for infrastructure. This was a unilateral proposal. This was not subject to hearings, and it is not appropriate. It is contrary to our economy; it is contrary to American interests; and it is going to increase our trade deficit. Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge that we support this legislation and that we move forward in a bipartisan manner to fix the user fee concept to increase the investment in infrastructure to where we can improve our roadways.

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Chairman, I first want to thank Chairman Bishop, Ranking Member Grijalva, Congressmen Labrador, Duffy, and Pierluisi, and many others who worked tirelessly on this legislation. Mr. Chairman, the island of Puerto Rico with a population of under 4 million people has a debt of, by some measure, $100 billion. That is a population less than the State of Louisiana, but a debt of nearly $100 billion. We have three options: We can do nothing and continue to allow this island territory to continue spiraling downward in a financial and humanitarian crisis. We can provide financial oversight. We can relieve regulation, help to reignite the economy, and allow for a negotiation between the creditors and the debtor. Or we can pay off their debt and add to the already $19 trillion irresponsible debt of the American Government today. Those are the options that are out there. I will tell you, I also struggled with what the right conservative solution was in this case. Ultimately, there is just one right answer. Doing nothing will simply worsen the financial condition, will probably put more burden on us to actually bail out the Nation on Congress and on the White House to do that. I oppose a bailout, and I oppose putting taxpayer dollars on the hook to pay off nearly a dozen years of irresponsible spending of the Puerto Rican Government. So establishing a financial oversight board similar to what was done in Washington, D.C. and providing conditions to negotiate a solution is the right answer. It is the conservative solution. During committee consideration of the bill, I included an amendment to ensure that Federal taxpayers are not put on the hook for this liability. Section 210 says: ``No Federal funds shall be authorized by this act for the payment of any liability of the territory or territorial instrumentality.''

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Chairman, this amendment makes it clear: as affirmed by the Supreme Court today and mentioned by the committee chairman, Puerto Rico is different from a State, and the Supreme Court affirmed that today. It is not a State. It is a territory of the U.S., and we have a constitutional obligation to prevent a worsening disaster. This bill does not set a precedent for States and municipalities. It respects the priority of debt by general obligation bondholders and others. It prevents higher cost of borrowing by States and municipalities by controlling the situation. Most importantly, Mr. Chairman, it doesn't bail out Puerto Rico. It creates a path for financial stability. Mr. Chairman, I urge support for H.R. 5278.

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 150th anniversary of the Wesley United Methodist Church of Baton Rouge. In 1866, the community decided it was time to build a church. And like good Louisianans, they set out to build one. Members of the church harvested wood from the forests north of Baton Rouge, floated the logs down the Mississippi River to their chosen site and used them to build the congregation's first church a house of worship built by hands of her parishioners. Throughout the dark days of segregation in our nation's history, the Wesley Methodist Church was a beacon of light and played an important role serving the African American in the heart of Louisiana's capital. Sadly, the original structure was destroyed by a storm in 1883, and shortly after being rebuilt, the church was again destroyed by a fire in 1892. But as a testimony to the church's importance in the community and to the perseverance of the spirit of Louisiana, Wesley United Methodist was rebuilt in its current location. Today, the Wesley United Methodist Church continues a proud tradition of service, fellowship, and ministry--as a church at the heart of the city, with the city at heart.

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, 6 years ago on April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon exploded and resulted in the loss of 11 lives, destroying or disrupting many families, businesses, restaurants, and livelihoods of south Louisiana, which is known as the Sportsman's Paradise, profoundly impacting recreational and commercial fishing and oiling in my home State of Louisiana, over 600 miles of what is known as one of the most productive ecosystems on the North American continent. Mr. Speaker, since that time, countless hours have been invested by State, local, and Federal employees trying to help restore and recover the Gulf. It resulted in one of the largest settlements, in fact, the largest settlement, from a single company in United States history. Mr. Speaker, during the height of that disaster, we heard the administration, the President and others talking about the importance of this productive ecosystem. Yet, since that time, we have seen nothing but Federal actions to take funds away from restoring and protecting coastal Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, we are asking the administration to remain consistent and to honor those lives that were lost and to honor the coast of Louisiana.

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, Louisiana is known as the Sportsmen's Paradise. We don't have snow skiing, we don't have rock climbing, and we don't have white-water kayaking in Louisiana, but we do have our bayous, we have our alligators, and we have our oysters. We are America's foreign country, Mr. Speaker. We are the top wintering habitat for migratory waterfowl. We are one of the top recreational fishing destinations in the Nation. For over four decades, Joe Macaluso has been writing for the Morning Advocate, spilling the beans on our secret fishing holes, our lures, and our hunting hotspots. Joe has been translating what is known, again, as America's foreign country to our visitors and residents alike. He has received national awards for coverage of legendary Grambling University Coach Eddie Robinson. He has received awards for his coverage of fisheries devastation following Hurricane Andrew in 1992. He has received a lifetime achievement award from Louisiana Outdoor Writers Association, Coastal Conservation Association, and the Louisiana Wildlife Federation. He was recently inducted in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. Mr. Speaker, I am not a good hunter and am not a good fisherman. But, with Joe ``Mac,'' he made it easy because he was always spilling the beans. He will be sorely missed.

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Delmas L. Taylor, who has served as Registrar of Voters for Livingston Parish in my home state of Louisiana since October 1, 1997. Delmas is retiring today from a dedicated career of public service to his parish and to all of Louisiana. In 1976, Delmas took his first job with the Livingston Parish government where he worked for more than 20 years before being elected Registrar of Voters. For 20 more years after that, he faithfully executed his duties as Registrar of Voters, ensuring that citizens across the parish could access the information necessary to participate in our great democratic process. Today on behalf of Livingston Parish and the state of Louisiana, I express gratitude to Delmas for his years of service and for a job well done.

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, in recent months, Livingston Parish has lost two important leaders. On October 26 of last year, Jeff McHugh David passed away. Earlier this month, on March 3, Michael Dowty also passed away. Jeff was the longest serving owner/publisher in the history of Livingston Parish News, and Mike was the 28-year managing editor of the newspaper. Together they had nearly 90 years of newspaper experience. The Livingston Parish News was established in 1898. It has a 118-year history. During that history, it has been awarded over 600 State and national awards for its journalism excellence. Mr. Speaker, the Livingston Parish News covered important events like the 1983 floods, which resulted in the Comite diversion authorization, and the LIGO project, which recently discovered for the first time ever gravitational waves. It is really an amazing newspaper that has done a phenomenal job. They have 1,200 subscribers and over 60,000 online subscribers. The past 6 months have been a challenging time for the paper. Jeff is survived by his son, McHugh David, who carries on his father's legacy of the Livingston Parish News, as Leesha calls him behind his back, McCutie. Mr. Speaker, today I recognize and honor these men's service and contribution to our community and to the great State of Louisiana. Both men were institutions in Livingston Parish, and both will be missed.

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today, it adjourn to meet at 9 a.m. tomorrow.

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, the reality, as the gentleman from Indiana noted earlier, is that we are going to have disasters and we are going to spend funds responding to those disasters. The problem with the United States disaster management policy is that it is backward. It is entirely reactive. Rather than going in before a disaster happens and making areas more resilient, making our ecosytem more resilient, making our economy more resilient, we are dead set on this process of coming in after disasters and spending exponentially more dollars. The ranking member referenced a few figures a little while ago. He referenced a figure of a CBO study indicating that, for every $1 we invest in the right type of hazard mitigation, we save $3 in disaster response cost. There was another study that FEMA did. For every $1 we invest, we have $4 in cost savings. I think, Mr. Speaker, with the right criteria, you actually even save more. Now, we are challenged as a Nation right now because the agency that is primarily responsible for making our communities more resilient is the U.S. Army Corps Engineers, which, unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, is stuck on stupid. What we have seen over the last several years is, rather than trying to fix that, we have seen other agencies coming up being granting agencies. We have seen FEMA. This year we have seen the Department of the Interior in the President's budget. In the recent years, we have seen HUD. Rather than fixing the problem, we are just trying to go around it and put more granting agencies out there. It is creating a disparate approach, an approach that is not coordinated and an approach that is going to result in more taxpayers' funds being spent on the wrong projects, the wrong priorities, rather than being proactive. This bill addresses that, Mr. Speaker. This bill actually incudes a provision that has FEMA begin developing a coordinated, proactive approach to how we mitigate or reduce vulnerabilities from disasters. In the last several years, in my home State of Louisiana, we have seen extraordinary disasters, whether it is Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 or Hurricanes Gustav and Ike in 2008. We had the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2011. In 2012, we had Hurricane Isaac. In 2011 and again this year, we saw record-high water on the Mississippi River system causing flooding. We are going to spend dollars. We have got to spend them in the right and principled places. This bill does a number of things that are important. Number one, it eliminates bureaucracy and helps to streamline the process of getting dollars on the ground to some of our important impacted areas. We have seen where this bill comes in and it actually changes criteria, where severely impacted local communities, like in Louisiana, where we just saw St. John Parish, Ascension Parish, Livingston Parish, the area of Kenner, and St. James Parish experience extraordinary impacts from tornadoes. Those areas actually could potentially qualify for Federal disaster because of the severe impacts in some of these limited areas. Most importantly, Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the ranking member and the chairman for working with us on a provision that prevents FEMA from being able to move the goalpost on us, being able to come and change conditions after a grant is made that could result in homeowners having to pay back absurd amounts of money when they followed the criteria and followed the commitments when they entered into these grant agreements. Mr. Speaker, this bill goes a long way. I want to continue working with the leaders of this bill on these zones, on duplication of efforts, and other things. But I will say it again, Mr. Speaker: we are going to spend the money one way or another. We need to spend it in a principled manner.

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise with every member of the Louisiana House delegation to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Louisiana Municipal Association. On January 28, 1926, the first Louisiana Conference of Mayors was held to adopt their Constitution, and elect Mayor F.J. Foisy of Alexandria the first president of the organization. That group would eventually become what is known today as the Louisiana Municipal Association. Since its inception, the LMA has tirelessly served municipalities of our state, thereby improving the quality of life for the citizens of our cities, towns, and villages. Today, the LMA zealously represents the interest of its 305 members, including 127 villages, 112 towns, 64 cities, and 2 parishes. It is my honor to commend this great organization for its non-partisan commitment to legislative advocacy, education, technical assistance, and a myriad of member services that enable municipal governments to run efficiently and effectively. One of the great advantages of the LMA, is that it provides a forum for municipal leaders to meet and assist each other in solving problems common to all municipalities. To help fulfill its three-fold mission of education, advocacy, and service, the LMA has created a variety of initiatives. The LMA holds several events each year; an annual convention, a Mid-Winter Conference, ten district meetings, a Municipal Day during the state's legislative session, and 15 or more annual webinars. 2016 has been deemed the ``Year of Education'' to launch the initiative for enhanced education benefitting municipal entities and their employees. It will be a year-long celebration commencing with the LMA's Mid-Winter Conference in February. The LMA has staff dedicated to state and federal legislative advocacy, an effort that has been successful on both fronts. On the federal level, the LMA played a critical role in the enactment of the Homeowners Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014 by joining forces with the National League of Cities and other coastal state municipal leagues to lead the charge in lobbying Congress to enact critical reforms to the Biggert Waters Act of 2012, thereby facilitating affordable homeowner flood insurance in Louisiana and across the country. On the state level, the LMA has been a strong voice for Louisiana municipalities in efforts to fight blight, promote law enforcement, maintain funding, and enhance economic growth. To provide excellent member services, the LMA has formed two wholly- owned subsidiaries: Risk Management, Inc., which manages a self- insurance fund that addresses the insurance and liability needs of members; and the Louisiana Municipal Advisory and Technical Services Bureau, Inc., which provides outstanding and economical operational support programs to its members. In addition, the LMA boasts two political subdivisions: Unemployment Compensation Fund and the Louisiana Municipal Gas Authority. Other notable services, affiliate organizations, and advisory organizations include: the Computer and Internet Technology Assistance Program, which provides municipalities with free computer equipment and internet access to link them to the digital world; the Municipal Employees Retirement System; Louisiana Association of Chiefs of Police; Louisiana Conference of Mayors; Louisiana City Attorneys Association; Louisiana Recreation and Parks Association; Louisiana Municipal Clerks Association; Louisiana Association of Tax Administrators, Louisiana Fire Chiefs Association, Louisiana Airport Managers and Associates, Louisiana Municipal Black Caucus Association, Louisiana Rural Water Association, Louisiana Association of Municipal Secretaries and Assistants, and the Building Officials Association of Louisiana. The Louisiana Municipal Association's Executive Board is currently under the direction of President Mayor Carroll Breaux of Springhill. President Breaux's Executive Committee is composed of First Vice President Mayor Barney Arceneaux of Gonzales; Second Vice President Mayor Lawrence Henagan of DeQuincy; Immediate Past President Mayor David Camardelle of Grand Isle; and District A Vice President Mayor Jimmy Williams of Sibley. The Executive Director is Ronnie Harris, former mayor of Gretna for 28 years. From its humble beginnings consisting of only 29 forward-thinking mayors seeking to empower their communities, the LMA has evolved into an exemplary organization earning the esteem and trust of local, state, and federal elected officials. The LMA exemplifies the enthusiastic cooperation that is necessary to achieve a better and brighter Louisiana. For 90 years, they have advanced with technology, all while maintaining the core values that drive their success. Let's all send our warmest congratulations to the Louisiana Municipal Association for 90 years of excellence in the State of Louisiana.

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana

Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, earlier this week, the President submitted a budget request to the Congress. That budget request increases spending by approximately $2.5 trillion over the next 10 years. It raises taxes by $3.4 trillion over the next 10 years. And I will say that again. It increases spending by $2.5 trillion and raises taxes by $3.4 trillion over the next 10 years. This budget, like every other budget that has been submitted by this White House, does not ever come into balance. It never comes into balance. It stays in the red. In fact, under this budget, we will see a 13 percent structural shortfall in funding. The deficit would increase this fiscal year to $616 billion. That is up from approximately $438 billion last year. Either number is unacceptable. Mr. Speaker, with the trajectory that we are on, by 2022, just the interest on the debt--let me be clear: just the interest, not the principal--is going to result in us spending more money on paying that interest payment than we will spend on all of our defense spending in a year. I will say that again. We will spend more money just paying the interest payment on the debt--not dropping the principal--than we will spend on our entire defense budget in the year by 2022, with the trajectory that we are on, increasing this Nation's debt. The debt is going to be more than double what it was at the time this President took office. It is going to more than double by the time he leaves office. It currently exceeds $18 trillion. Yes, $18 trillion is our debt today. To break that down, that is approximately $155,000 per taxpayer. This isn't Monopoly money. These are real repercussions. Earlier this week, in this Chamber, I was able to host a seventh- grade class from LSU University Lab School. These are the folks that are going to pay for it. It is that generation of these seventh-graders and their children and grandchildren and great children. Mr. Speaker, at some point, this debt is going to be due. The bill is going to have to be paid. You can see that we are going off this cliff of spending to where our interest payments in a short 6 years are projected to exceed all that we are spending in our defense budget in a single year. This budget adds $6 trillion in debt over the next 10 years. I would like to break it down a little bit in terms of what some of these tax increases are and what the implications are. The President has taken a lot of credit over the past few years over job growth. He has talked a lot about these increases in jobs that have occurred under his administration. When you actually look at the numbers, where we have actually had job growth is in the energy sector. It is the one place where we have seen this extraordinary job growth over the last several years. However, just over the last year, we have lost approximately 10,000 jobs in the energy industry in Louisiana. By some estimates, that is 20 percent of our oil and gas workforce. That is 10,000 jobs in the last year tied back to our energy sector. There was a study that just came out that said, at current prices, oil and gas producers in the United States and Canada are losing approximately $350 million every single day. So, I am going to put this in perspective. We have lost 10,000 jobs in Louisiana alone. We are seeing a bleeding of energy jobs across this Nation. You have energy producers that are losing, according to one study, $350 million every single day. The White House's solution in their budget is to impose more taxes. It makes zero sense. For those of you that are listening, it is not going to make sense. People are bleeding jobs, they are losing money, and let's go ahead and put that last nail in the coffin and increase taxes. We just don't subtly increase taxes. This budget proposes to increase taxes by $10 a barrel. At the barrel prices that ended yesterday, that is in excess of 30 percent; in fact, it is approaching a 40 percent tax in an industry that is bleeding jobs. It is completely nonsensical. Obviously, it is not well thought out. The study I referenced earlier projects that, by 2017, approximately one-third of the companies involved in oil and gas exploration and production activities will go bankrupt. It is killing American jobs. I want to be clear that it is not going to decrease our demand for oil and gas, as we have seen prices as low as they are. You are seeing more people buying oil and gas because of the low prices. But what it means is that we are going to kill our domestic industry and become more reliant on foreign sources. I will say it again: It is nonsensical. Further, adding insult to injury is the fact that this administration is continuing to move forward on this well control rule, which they have hidden from industry, hidden from Congress, and refused to meet with committees and delegations about what they are trying to do. Yet, they thought it was appropriate to leak it to The Wall Street Journal this week. So, they can't talk to the people that exercise oversight, but they can talk to the newspapers. Even their comments to the newspapers continue to demonstrate a fundamental misunderstanding of how our offshore industry works. A study that was just released indicates that we can see a 35 percent reduction in domestic energy production in the offshore as a result of this well control rule. Mr. Speaker, I want to be clear: Like everyone, I support safe energy production in the United States. What happened in 2010, with the Macondo disaster and the loss of those lives was an absolute travesty-- and it was avoidable--but, as the judge said in that case, it was gross negligence and willful misconduct. The judge didn't say that the Department of Interior was at fault from flawed rules. He said that the operators were at fault and that it was the result of multiple, multiple mistakes that, in aggregate, was grossly negligent and showed willful misconduct. Since the Macondo spill, industry has taken their own steps to ensure safety. The Department of Interior has taken steps to ensure safety. Yet, this well control rule is going to result in a 35 percent reduction, and I believe it will actually result in decreased safety because of the fundamental misunderstanding of these regulators of the industry they are attempting to regulate. They are in an ivory tower-- and it is inappropriate--further attempting to kill the oil and gas industry. Now, here is where the irony comes in even further. Mr. Speaker, the President indicated that the effort to assign this $10 a barrel tax is tied back to his environmental agenda, tied back to his efforts to ensure that we are good environmental stewards, which, to be clear, Mr. Speaker, I am a strong advocate of the environment and ensuring that we balance environmental protection, environmental sustainability, and ecosystem production with our economic development efforts. But in this case, by taking these steps and reducing our domestic production of energy, particularly offshore, you are reducing the funds that are available for environmental restoration and environmental initiatives. Because it is going to result in a 35 percent reduction in offshore energy production, according to the McKinsey study. So, if that is accurate, it is going to result in billions of dollars of less revenue for the U.S. Government. Now, what makes that even worse is that the far, majority of the offshore energy production in the United States happens off the shores of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Mr. Speaker, I believe that is your home State, one of those. So, under Federal law, from 2006, those energy revenues are shared back with the States so they can carry out efforts to help ensure the sustainability of their coasts and resilience of their communities. In the case of Louisiana, my home State, we actually passed a constitutional amendment to dedicate those dollars back to restoring the coast, to preventing floods. So this budget, as submitted, does not include funds through the Corps of Engineers for projects like the Morganza to the Gulf project. It doesn't include funds for important projects to prevent repetitive flooding, like the Comite project. It doesn't fulfill the President's commitment that he made to Louisiana in 2012, when he walked on the streets in St. John Parish and said he was going to advance the West Shore project to ensure that we don't continue to see flooding from hurricanes and storms in St. John Parish and St. Charles Parish and some of the adjacent areas. He fails to fulfill his own commitment by zeroing out funding for that important project, and again adding insult to injury to insult to injury to insult, by taking away funds in his budget request, attempting to repeal these offshore energy revenue-sharing dollars that in the State of Louisiana are committed to ecosystem restoration and to community resilience efforts to prevent floodwaters, to save FEMA money, to prevent disasters, to prevent economic disruption, to prevent disrupting our families and our businesses in south Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I just want to close by saying that this budget is entirely nonsensical. It talks about reducing spending and saving money, yet it does completely the opposite. It talks about environmental initiatives, yet all it proposes to do is reduce funds available for environmental purposes, and then, in one case, swaps the Louisiana money, or attempts to take the Louisiana money--excuse me--take the money from the Gulf States and send it up to Alaska for a climate initiative on coastal resiliency. And one last note on that, Mr. Speaker. I have been up to the communities in coastal Alaska. I have been up to Shishmaref and Kivalina and Kotzebue and Nome and Barrow and Deadhorse. I have been to these communities, and they deserve help. But, Mr. Speaker, to simply trade, or to rob Peter to pay Paul, to rob the Gulf to set up a program in Alaska, it is mind-boggling. Mr. Speaker, they all deserve help. They all deserve help. To simply take money from one area and to send it to another one, that doesn't fix the problem. This budget, from a fiscal perspective, is fatally flawed policy. It is going to put extraordinary financial burden on future generations. From an environmental perspective, it is completely nonsensical in that it takes money away from environmental restoration and environmental initiatives and community resilience. It is going to result in increasing FEMA disaster spending by leaving these communities vulnerable by failing to address these hazards. I urge, Mr. Speaker, that, as we move forward, we move forward with commonsense reforms to reduce spending, to bring the debt under control, to begin reducing our national debt, and to make sure that we are spending money in places where it makes sense, to fulfill commitments to the people in St. John and St. Charles Parishes, to ensure that our communities and our economy are more resilient, and not to continue mortgaging our future and continue allowing our environment to degrade, as it is in coastal Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.