Member Day

The hearing will come to order. I would like to welcome everyone to today's Energy and Water Member Day. Today our fellow members will have the opportunity to testify on issues under the jurisdiction of this subcommittee that are important to them. Each witness will have five minutes to present their testimony. Members of the subcommittee will then have the opportunity to ask questions if they desire to do so. I know everyone is busy and has busy schedules today, so I will forgo any extended remarks. I look forward to learning more from our colleagues on their priorities for the fiscal 27 Energy and Water bill. Now I would like to recognize my friend and colleague Ms. Kaptur, the ranking member, for any opening remarks she may like to make.

Thank you, Chair Fleischmann. It's always good to be at this point and welcome all of our colleagues who are joining us today. We appreciate your time and the serious attention you pay to your district, and I look forward to hearing your testimony about your priorities, including federal programs of importance to you and to the people that you represent. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and let's proceed.

Thank you, Ms. Kaptur. We will now turn to our witnesses. First up, I'd like to welcome Congressman Jefferson Van Drew from the state of New Jersey. Mr. Van Drew, you're recognized, sir, for five minutes.

I always like to kid around and say when I'm called Jefferson, it always reminds me when I was a kid and I was in trouble. If I did something, it was always Jeff with my parents and family, but if I did something bad, it was Jefferson, right? So thank you so much. Good morning, Chairman Fleischmann and Ranking Member Kaptur. It is a pleasure to once again testify before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water. I thank all of you on the committee for your hard work. My district of southern New Jersey is one of the most coastal in the entire country. I work to take care of my coastal communities from the bayshore to the barrier islands of New Jersey shore. That's why I always request that this committee provide strong levels of funding for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. We expect the Army Corps to release its work plan and budget very, very shortly, and I ask the committee to fully fund all the New Jersey operations and maintenance projects, including the president's budget, to keep our waterways clear. I also ask that the committee provide strong funding levels for beach replenishment. I have two community project funding items I'm submitting for beach replenishment, which is a lifeline for the New Jersey shore. For those that haven't been, we always have a certain vision of New Jersey. I'd really love to have you down sometime. We have beautiful beaches and bays and meadows and farmland. Our beaches are a lot to take care of and to maintain in southern New Jersey, and we're in the top three. It's Florida, North Carolina, and New Jersey for being coastal and having these beach maintenance programs. The first of them is Brigantine Inlet to Great Egg Harbor Inlet for 35 million in construction. The project has two components. The first component will construct a protective beach on Absecon Island, including Atlantic City, Ventnor, Longport, and Margate. This is a regular nourishment, and historic trends and input from the Army Corps suggest that it will cost 30 million for FY 27. When I say a regular nourishment, these beaches are nourished on a cycle every so many years, depending on which particular beach it is. The second component is five million to continue advancing the design of new jetties in Atlantic City to better protect the beaches and mitigate erosion. This isn't in my remarks, but I wanted to mention that too. We're also looking at new and better ways for beach replenishment and for structure. You know, folks that, for example, are in Idaho might say, why are we always throwing sand on the beaches and eventually it gets washed away? Not all of it does, number one. Secondly, though, sometimes it does, and we want to look at better ways to spend money to help mitigate that process of placing sand and then losing the sand, and it's one of the things that we're doing here in the Atlantic City, Ventnor, Longport, and Margate area. And the second component, anyhow, is a five million dollars to continue advancing the design of new jetties in Atlantic City to better protect the beaches and mitigate erosion. The design process received 1.5 million in the FY 25 work plan already, and the requested funding will allow this process to move forward to final design. The second beach is Barnegat Inlet to Little Egg Inlet for 35 million in construction. The project in Long Beach Island, which is the northern part of my district, an area called Ocean County, is one of the largest in the state of New Jersey. It protects over 30 billion in property. It's not just about beaches and, let me be very blunt, rich people going to the beach. This is also, all these dunes, all these beaches protect structure inside, so it's actually public safety as well, so that streets and roads aren't washed away. My hope is that it will be included in the FY 26 work plan, but I have submitted it as an FY 27 earmark just as an insurance policy. NJDEP is a non-federal sponsor. All these things I'm talking about have non-federal sponsors, New Jersey DEP, that's New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, and they're taking the piece, they're doing a piece of this as well. My final community project funding request is investigation funding, again, trying to look at new and better ways for the island of Brigantine seawall. Funds will advance a section 103 study to extend the seawall in northern Brigantine Island. The current seawall is no longer sufficient to protect the property and the ecosystems on the north end of this beautiful community. The Army Corps issued a federal interest determination on this project in 2017, and NJDEP, Department of Environmental Protection, has agreed to sponsor this non-federal study. So I just want to point out with all these things that I mentioned to you, that's the basic part of my testimony, there are non-federal sponsors, so we have the state willing to invest in the other piece of this. And with that, I'm done.

Congressman Van Drew, I want to thank you for very thoughtful testimony and appreciate your being before the subcommittee today. I have no questions. Does the ranking member have any questions?

I have no question. I have no questions, but I think I would just say for the record, if the Army Corps is listening, I hope they'll give those of us who aren't from the East Coast a better understanding of the interaction among beaches along that eastern perimeter, because it's very complicated, whether it's New Jersey or whether it's North Carolina. So we appreciate your testimony very much this morning.

If I just may speak for a second, you're right, it is very complicated, and we're actually still learning, to be honest with you, and we don't want to waste federal dollars or state dollars for that matter. So looking at the best, safest, most environmentally acceptable ways to restore these areas and yet at the same time protect property. There is this notion, and we've in Congress for years we've seen it, where are we spending money obviously in the best, most efficient, most acceptable way to everyone possible? And I point out here this is not just about protecting beaches for people to go bathing, which is an important part, but it's about protecting the billions, billions of dollars of infrastructure that are just a couple miles inland. So if you have good dune systems, if you have good plantings, if you have good seawalls where appropriate. The tricky part, Ranking Member, the tricky part about seawalls and permanent structure is you have to know how to do them and where to do them. If you do it the wrong way, you can actually cause more erosion or more problems. I'm happy to say that the Army Corps has over the last number of years started to really study new and better ways to go about that to maximize every dollar.

Thank you, Mr. Van Drew. I just wanted to say for the record, hopefully the Corps is listening, what I've seen is they, each of us has a separate congressional district, and so they tend to come and see us about our congressional district. But in your particular area, in other places, certainly the West Coast, the South Coast, Louisiana, etc., the Mississippi River corridor, you have to look at all the districts together because there's an interaction that occurs that they don't always explain, and I think it would be very helpful to us as members to see that larger set of challenges across our various coasts. So thank you very much for allowing me to comment.

No other questions. Mr. Van Drew, I want to thank you for your testimony and I hope you have a wonderful day, sir.

Chairman, thank you for your leadership. If rest of Congress was this easy, boy, we'd be in good shape. Thank you.

Thank you. I now welcome Congressman Jim Costa from the state of California. Mr. Costa, you are recognized, sir, for five minutes.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member. It's been a regular annual occurrence to be before the subcommittee and I appreciate it because of the good work all of you do. The areas that I want to speak about are really dealing with western water and they're kind of centric to California, but they apply really to the Colorado River and other applications of the Bureau of Reclamation, excuse me, manages these various projects, federal projects. And I want the subcommittee to look at the shared goals in deploying better reservoir management and advancing western water storage projects. It also involves, thank you, shall I start over? [Laughter.] I should know better. But the fact is is the the operations of a lot of the aging infrastructure obviously needs to be attended to. And the president issued in the last month appropriations to do just that on commitments. First, the Water Operations Technical Support Program gives us better ability to predict atmospheric rivers several days before they come into play. These tools give us better operational efforts to make the projects work and utilize all of the precipitation that's caused by these atmospheric rivers. We see them coming in in changes that we had not anticipated previously. The WIIN Act storage is dealing with areas with the rapid melt of the snowpack. We've had two good storms in the West and in California this year in December and then late February. And it looks like we're going to be below average, and therefore the ability to determine what the water content is in the Sierra so we can better manage the reservoirs that catch, capture that water are critical to deal with drought conditions. These investments have proven to pay off in the past. I urge the committee to provide $201 million for the Water Infrastructure Improvements Act, otherwise known as WIIN, for fiscal year 27. There's also report language that complements what the president has done. As we know, water is the lifeblood to the West and to agriculture where water flows, food grows. And we've been seriously impaired by the age of land subsidence where these canals that moved water along have subsided anywhere from 10 to 15 to 20 feet, rendering in one area of the Friant-Kern Canal 22 percent of its original capacity to move water. We're fixing that and the president's provided some additional funding for that, but this would complement that effort. So $60 million to repair the reclamation canals in fiscal year 2027. Another innovative program that we've used and I think we need to expand on it, all of these by the way have bipartisan support among the Valley delegation, is the snow airborne observation program. This provides an ability to really aerial by aerial capability survey the water content in the various watersheds and it gives us a better idea on how to operate the projects. And reclamation snow water supply forecast utilizes NASA's developed technology on airborne snow observations to full watershed snowpack inventory at high resolution. It's been a great tool and we want to urge the committee to fund efforts $5 million toward this critically important program. And finally, many years back, a number of my colleagues and I resolved a lawsuit settlement on dealing with the San Joaquin River Restoration Program. And the water users have supported the court settlement agreement. This will continue the restoration program to maintain fish populations on the San Joaquin River and reverse adverse water impacts for the people who benefit from the water from that river. And so I urge the committee to provide full funding for the San Joaquin River Restoration Program and it is again supported on a bipartisan basis to continue to meet the commitments that we created on the court settlement agreement. So those are my my areas and obviously the subcommittee has been very helpful with our efforts in the Californian and we appreciate it.

Mr. Costa, I want to thank you for your testimony today. I have no questions. Does the ranking member, Ms. Kaptur, have any questions?

In your part of California, have the Colorado River has the Colorado River situation impacted you?

Yes. And we really have tried to set an example back in in 2000, 2001, I chaired the State Senate Ag and Water Committee and we had a settlement agreement that really provided additional conservation in Southern California where we receive water from the Colorado River in the Imperial Valley District. The problem is is when the law of the river was settled in the late 1960s after a lot of consternation between the upper basin and lower basin states and I'm looking at some friends of mine who represent those areas, it was done under an agreement that they thought in a 10-year average, and we're reexamining all these 10-year averages, that the yield of the Colorado was 17 million acre feet on an average on a 10-year basis. Well, Lake Mead by Las Vegas that some of you may be familiar with with Hoover Dam has not been filled since 2000. And a year ago it almost went to dead pool status. What we've really determined in the last two decades is that the average yield on a 10-year basis for the Colorado River is not 17 million acre feet, but it's more between 10 and 12 million acre feet. And so to coming to grips with this agreement that split the water between upper basin states, lower basin states, including California and Mexico, has now become a very, very difficult challenge because everybody has to look at the reality that the allocations that they thought they had going back to the 1960s that they had agreed upon are no longer the real numbers. And therein lies the problem.

Thank you.

Mr. Simpson.

Thank you. Thanks for testifying, Jim. That is a fascinating subject about the upper and lower basin and how that water was divided and stuff was over appropriated because they thought there was a lot they were looking at wet water years and not dry water years. And so it's causing some problems. But what is your how close or or what is the level of of water that you have this year anticipated?

They're talking about a little more rain, snow next week, but I think we're looking at they they raised it yesterday from 15 percent to 20 percent. And we've got our fingers crossed that we may be able to to double that. The more the next snow survey is going to be at the end of this month, so it'll be early next week. And then the last one is at the end of April. But as you know, farmers, ranchers, dairymen and women are making decisions now and last month as to what they're going to plant in terms of annual crops based upon their water allocation. And so if we get additional water allocated in May, that's helpful, but it it doesn't allow you to plant crops that you'd want to plant now. And therein lies the problem.

Right. It's going to be a it's going to be an ugly water year in the West. I mean, if you look up at our state, we're normally in outside my house there'd be two feet of snow. They played golf year round out there in Idaho, which is and the reason I asked that is because it affects my bill substantially in that I think we're going to have a really bad fire year this year.

Yeah. No, that and we don't even have fire years anymore in the West. They're it's a fire seasons. We have fire years. It's it's year round.

Well, thank you for your testimony.

Thank you.

And I thank Mr. Simpson and Mr. Costa again. I thank you for your testimony, sir.

Okay. Keep up the good work. Thank you.

Thank you. I now welcome Congresswoman Jennifer Kiggans from the state of Virginia. Ms. Kiggans, you're recognized for five minutes. Welcome.

Thank you. Thank you, Chairman Fleischmann and Ranking Member Kaptur, for the opportunity to participate in this Member Day. I want to begin with an issue that's long overdue for action and critically important to my district, and that's the erosion of the Chincoteague Inlet on the Eastern Shore. The Chincoteague Inlet is a dynamic and rapidly shifting coastal inlet on Virginia's Eastern Shore that serves as a critical navigation channel and harbor of refuge for mariners, while also supporting ecosystem health and coastal protection. Over time, increasing erosion and sediment movement have destabilized the inlet, threatening the town of Chincoteague's working waterfront, local homes and businesses, and the surrounding barrier island system. Without a comprehensive feasibility study, we lack the data needed to evaluate long-term stabilization strategies, protect the shoreline, and ensure safe navigation. This study was authorized under the 2016 Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act, and the town formally requested it as far back as 2015. Since then, the community has done everything right. They have secured the required non-federal cost share, received support from the Commonwealth of Virginia, and built strong regional and congressional backing. I have personally pushed for this study at every level, including submitting requests to the Office of Management and Budget for inclusion in the President's fiscal year 2027 budget and to the Army Corps of Engineers for inclusion in the fiscal year 2026 work plan. Yet despite being authorized for nearly a decade and fully ready to move forward, the study has still not been funded or initiated. This is not just a local issue, it's also a federal responsibility. Stabilizing the inlet is essential to protecting major federal assets, including NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, and nearby Navy installations that depend on stable coastline conditions for operational access and mission continuity. As a member of both the Natural Resources and Armed Services Committee, I see clearly how coastal erosion is not just an environmental challenge, but a direct threat to national security and federal investment and infrastructure. We cannot continue to delay a study that is authorized, has a committed state-covered cost share, and is critical to protecting both communities and federal investments. I urge the committee to prioritize funding for the Chincoteague Inlet feasibility study. Secondly, I want to highlight the importance of continued robust funding for beach nourishment. Federally authorized beach nourishment projects are one of the most effective investments we make in coastal resilience. These projects protect communities from storm damage while sustaining local economies that depend on tourism, recreation, and coastal access. The return on investment is extraordinary. Studies show for every $1 spent on beach nourishment, beach tourism generates approximately $3,000 in economic output, $1,400 in direct spending, and $200 in tax revenue. That is a level of economic return that far exceeds most federal programs. In my district, beaches are not just places where people vacation, they are critical infrastructure. They protect homes, businesses, and military installations, and they support an economy that generates billions in activity each year. Without continued federal partnership, these communities are left exposed to increasing storm risks and long-term erosion. Finally, I want to address a glaring gap in coastal storm risk management studies and the need to ensure they are truly comprehensive. Communities like those in Hampton Roads rely on the Army Corps of Engineers to evaluate flood risk and identify mitigation strategies. However, current funding limitations and authorities often prevent the Corps from fully accounting for federal infrastructure, particularly military installations, within these studies. In a region that is home to Naval Station Norfolk and some of the most critical defense assets in the country, this creates a serious gap. Our local and federal infrastructure are interconnected, and planning for one without the other undermines the effectiveness of both. In addition, I believe we should explore whether the Department of Defense should have the ability to partner more directly with the Army Corps of Engineers to ensure military installations are fully incorporated into coastal storm risk management studies. In many cases, our most critical national security assets sit alongside vulnerable coastal coastal communities, yet current funding structures do not always allow those federal assets to be fully analyzed within Corps studies. Providing a mechanism such as a dedicated fund or transfer authority for DOD or DOWT to support these studies would ensure we are protecting military readiness, strengthening coastal resilience, and making smarter, more coordinated federal investment. Congress should ensure the Corps has the resources and authority to conduct fully comprehensive region-wide studies that include all at-risk areas, federal and non-federal alike. Doing so will strengthen national security, improve flood protection outcomes, and ensure we're making the most effective use of taxpayer dollars. Thank you again for the opportunity to highlight these priorities. I look forward to working with the committee to ensure our coastal communities and critical federal assets are protected for the long term. Thank you.

I want to thank you, Congresswoman Kiggans, for that testimony. I have no questions. I would like to yield to the ranking member and see if she has any questions.

I thank the gentlelady for testifying this morning. Thank you so very much for championing Virginia.

Thank you. It's a privilege.

Thank you. Mr. Simpson.

Thank you very much for your testimony.

Thank you. Thank you for having me. Appreciate it.

I now welcome Congressman Randy Weber from the state of Texas. Mr. Weber, you're recognized for five minutes, sir.

Thank you. Before Representative Kiggans leaves, I want to say that Kaptur and Kiggans almost shared the same birthday. It's June 17th and June 18th, if I've got that right.

That's pretty good.

Okay. I just try to I just look too old to pay attention. But thank you all, I appreciate that. And by the way, I didn't leave you out, Mr. Simpson, September the 8th. And I think you're Oct-

How did you know that?

Well, I kind of I guess envision myself as the birthday geek, I guess for lack of better and he's got an October birthday, the chairman does, my sister was born October the 14th, he's born October the 12th.

11th.

11th. I was off one day. Man, I'm getting bad. I am getting too old to do this, so listen, thank you all for letting me testify today. I actually proudly represent Texas' 14th Congressional District, which is located along the upper Gulf Coast of Texas. Some of you all probably know a bit about it. And folks, America is at an inflection point where energy independence as well as economic resilience remain defining principles of this our God-governed sovereign nation. Without a strong and reliable energy framework, national priorities such as economic growth, military readiness, which I'm going to talk a bit more about that in a minute, and the uninterrupted delivery of essential goods and services and we're talk about not just in our country but around the world, that uninterrupted delivery is worldwide and is essential for what we do. America's position on the global stage is directly tied to our ability to produce, to refine, and deliver energy at scale and to do so more efficiently than any of our competitors or any of our adversaries to name a few. So we want to do that efficiently and do it quickly and Texas' 14th Congressional District plays a critical role in that very mission. District 14 is home to some of the largest refining and petrochemical capacity in the United States, including three LNG plants in my district, three LNG plants, including critical port and waterway infrastructure that move energy products around the world. This system supported by this infrastructure is responsible for a substantial portion of the nation's fuel supply, including roughly 27 percent of America's gasoline, 35 percent of America's natural gas, and nearly 80 percent of the military grade fuel, let that sink in, 80 percent of the military grade fuel. Port Beaumont by the way moves more military personnel and equipment out of the country than any other port in the United States of America, it's extremely important. Maintaining our leadership in the global energy marketplace requires the infrastructure that is capable of supporting that production without constraint. Today, limitations in key navigation channels along with growing exposure to coastal storm risk present clear challenges to the reliability and efficiency of these very systems that we're talking about and counting on for the reliability of American energy as well as safety. I come today to highlight three key projects essential to realizing the mission of American energy dominance and economic strength: the Galveston Harbor and Channel operations and maintenance dredging projects, one of them, the Coastal Texas Protection and Restoration Project, which state of Texas has put hundreds of hundreds of millions of dollars into, and the Sabine-Neches Waterway Channel Improvement Project. The Sabine-Neches Waterway is the second largest waterway in the Gulf of Mexico, second only to the Mississippi River. So it's extremely long. The Galveston Harbor and the channel boasts the busiest entrance channel in the nation. Let that sink in. The Galveston entrance and channel goes up to the Port of Houston. It is the busiest entrance channel in the nation, supporting nearly 10,000 deep-draft vessels a year. 10,000, divide that by 12 months. The Coastal Texas Protection and Restoration Project would serve as a safeguard for 30 percent of the nation's refining capacity, 42 percent of the nation's specialty chemical feedstock, what a lot of these refineries use, making plastic and everything that we use every single day, and 80 percent, as I mentioned earlier, of the nation's military-grade fuel. In addition, the Sabine-Neches Waterway alone moves more than 194 million tons of cargo each and every year. It's unbelievable. And those volumes, by the way, are anticipated to go up from 190 to 210 million tons. These projects serve some of the most active and strategically significant energy corridors in the entire United States. And as global demand for American energy continues to rise, these systems are not going to be static. We should not allow them to be static. They need to be improving, they need to be growing, they need to be making, sending out more product to the whole world, really. They are expanding and increasing further and further under the pressure because we know that this work needs to be done. Addressing these challenges requires targeted investments in the infrastructure that absolutely underpin, underpins American dominance in energy. Absolutely, we need to be dominant in energy. For that reason, it is imperative that Congress fund the following projects: number one, the Galveston Harbor and Channel dredging, we'll submit that, Mr. Chairman; number two, the Coastal Texas Protection Restoration Project; and number three, the Sabine-Neches Waterway Channel Improvement Project. For our nation to remain competitive, we must ensure that these systems are modern, that they're resilient, and they're fully capable of meeting not just our demands, but global demands as well, global supply demands. So to the chairman and ranking members, I ask that these projects receive y'all's full and fair consideration as we navigate the fiscal year 2027 appropriation cycle. These projects not only benefit the hardworking people I'm so proud to represent, but also ensure that our nation continues to lead the world as the global energy leader. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to speak about these priorities, and I look forward to answering any further questions.

Mr. Weber, I want to thank you for your testimony before the subcommittee. As always, sir, you do an outstanding job. I have no questions. I'd like to yield to the ranking member to see if she has any questions.

Mr. Chairman, I don't have questions. I want to thank the gentleman from Texas for excellent testimony and just say that we all see that the public believes we can't get along, both parties can't get along. I would like to suggest to the chair that his public relations staff and mine work together. I'm really proud of the Congress at this moment. We have people who've testified this morning from the East Coast, the Gulf Coast, the West Coast. I represent the Great Lakes Coast, the longest coastline in the country. And that we are working on real improvements for our nation. And that despite all of the invasion of the media, the quiet work of the country goes on. And I'm just really impressed with the witnesses this morning and those who've come to the hearing. And I think we have a lot to share. And because all the coasts are represented, Mr. Chairman, I just think that might be something we might want to think about. That there are, that there are people who put their shoulder to the wheel in this institution. So thank you so very much and thank you for your testimony.

Thank you, ma'am. I thank the ranking member for her kind comments about the witnesses and I share the sentiments about the testimony today. I'd like to recognize the distinguished chair of the House Interior Subcommittee for Appropriations, Mr. Simpson.

Thank you. And thanks for being here and for your testimony. And I understand the importance of these projects that are in your district and so forth, and they're important not only to your district, but to the nation. You've also been one of the most vocal advocates for nuclear energy and I didn't see that in your testimony, but I...

Yes, sir. He's a good one to follow, Mr. Chairman.

He is that. So, but I, but I thank you for being an advocate for that with the, obviously with Oak Ridge in his district and Idaho National Lab. It's very important that we have advocates for that because if we're going to deliver the energy that's necessary, nuclear energy is going to be part of it. And lastly, I just want to say, knowing my birthday, knowing that you know my birthday, I look forward to my birthday gift coming from Texas chocolates or something like that on September 8. Thank you very much.

Well, thank you for those kind words. And before I leave, I want to say happy birthday to all of y'all coming up.

Thank you, Mr. Weber. If there's no other business, the hearing is adjourned. Thank you.