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U.S. Congressman Garret Graves and U.S. House Republican Whip Steve Scalise are pushing for federal funding for the Morganza-to-the-Gulf Hurricane Protection System.
The Congressmen hosted a meeting today with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Acting Director, Russel Vought, to advocate for federal funding for the Morganza-to-the-Gulf.
“Morganza-to-the-Gulf has come a long way in recent years, starting with the reassessment we asked the Corps to undertake in 2018, and the $1.25 million we secured to move forward with pre-construction,” shared Graves. “These investments are building on the $400 million already invested in the project to date, which have proven their value in protecting life and property. Working with Corps, we’ve identified significant savings and have knocked down the total cost of this project by billions of dollars. The bottom line is that more than $80 million have gone into studying the project – it’s time for the Corps to stop navel-gazing and to get busy turning dirt.”
Graves continued, “Whip Scalise and I also expressed our strong concerns over the bureaucratic delays preventing implementation of our Duplication of Benefits fix and will continue pushing until Louisiana’s flood victims get the relief they deserve.”
“Congressman Graves and I just met with the Acting Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Russel Vought, to discuss the importance of Morganza-to-the-Gulf and urge OMB to approve the project’s new lower cost estimate. OMB’s approval of the new lower cost estimate is integral for securing the federal funds necessary to move forward with this vital flood protection project,” said Whip Scalise.
“Morganza-to-the-Gulf will not only provide flood protection for thousands of families and businesses in Southeast Louisiana, it will protect the billions of dollars in economic activity transported through this region that allows our state to dominate in domestic and international maritime and energy commerce. I will continue fighting to break through the bureaucratic red tape and secure the necessary funding for this vital hurricane and storm surge protection project,” said Whip Scalise.
Over the last several months, the Corps worked with the state of Louisiana and local levee districts to bring the project’s cost estimate down from $10.3 billion to $3.2 billion. Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, R.D. James, approved the updated project cost analysis late last year, and the decision is now with the Office of Management and Budget.
In October 2019, Graves and Whip Scalise met with Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, R.D. James, to advocate for additional resources for Morganza-to-the-Gulf. In January 2020, Graves and Whip Scalise announced that an important hurdle has been cleared to advance the Morganza-to-the-Gulf Hurricane Protection System.
