{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://richmond.house.gov/press-release/rep-richmond-introduces-legislation-holding-army-corps-responsible-gross-negligence", "Rep. Richmond Introduces Legislation Holding Army Corps Responsible for Gross Negligence in the Aftermath of Katrina", "2013-04-19", "2013", "2013-04", "Democrat", "House", "LA", "Cedric Richmond", "R000588", "richmond.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Today, Congressman Cedric Richmond (LA-02) introduced the Army Corps Accountability Act of 2013.\u00a0\n\u201cThe state of Louisiana and the entire nation will never forget the disastrous impact caused during Hurricane Katrina after the levees broke and flooded the Ninth Ward and St. Bernard Parish,\u201d said Rep. Richmond.\u00a0 \u201cEight years later, these communities are still struggling to pick up the pieces of their lives and we owe them a debt to ensure that this never happens again. The Army Corps of Engineers must be held accountable for its gross negligence and failure to properly operate and maintain the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet. This legislation ensures that the Army Corps can never again hide behind discretionary provisions that ultimately impede our recovery and prevention efforts.\u201d\nIn a 2009 trial, Judge Stanwood Duval, a United States District Court Judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana, decided that the Army Corps of Engineers\u2019 gross negligence was the ultimate cause of catastrophic damage in New Orleans\u2019 Ninth Ward and St. Bernard Parish. In March 2012, an Appeals Court initially upheld this lower court decision before reversing itself five months later, ultimately agreeing with the Army Corps\u2019 position that it was protected from liability under the \u201cdiscretionary function\u201d exception from the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) liability.\nKey provisions of the Army Corps Accountability Act of 2013:\n The bill amends the FTCA to specifically remove the Army Corps from the \u201cdiscretionary function\u201d exception to FTCA culpability.\u00a0\n\tMany government activities or inactivity could be typified as \u201cexercising a discretionary function\u201d and would be protected from liability. This bill aims to reassert that the Corps needs to make offended parties whole when its officers or employees have acted in a negligent fashion.\n\tRemoves liability protection under the Federal Flood Control Act.\n\tMakes these reforms retroactive to ensure proper accountability.\n\tIf enacted, would hold the Corps accountable for its tortious actions as intended under the FTCA.\n Filing of Supreme Court Amicus Brief\nOn April 8, 2013, thirteen Members of Congress (four Senators, nine Representatives) filed an Amicus Brief with the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS, the Court) to overturn the appellate court\u2019s decision and support Hurricane Katrina victims impacted by negligent maintenance of the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO). Residents of these impacted neighborhoods and their lawyers have filed a writ of certiorari with the SCOTUS. If granted, the Court will hear the case. Rep. Richmond joined other Members of Congress and Senators in urging the Justices to take up the case to make it clear that Congress intended the FTCA to apply to negligent acts by the Federal government.\nThe full bill can be viewed here.\n\u00a0\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://richmond.house.gov/press-release/rep-richmond-introduces-legislation-holding-army-corps-responsible-gross-negligence"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.2765470892190933, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}