{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://scalise.house.gov/press-release/scalise-richmond-amendment-included-house-passed-wrrda-bill", "Scalise, Richmond amendment included in House-passed WRRDA bill", "2013-10-23", "2013", "2013-10", "Republican", "House", "LA", "Steve Scalise", "S001176", "scalise.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, DC \u2013 Congressman Steve Scalise today issued the following statement after winning several victories for families in southeast Louisiana. The House passed the Water Resources Reform and Development Act with an amendment by Scalise and Rep. Cedric Richmond to ensure that the Corps of Engineers account for the regional benefits of each proposed flood protection project. The bill also includes a Manager\u2019s Amendment authored by the Chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee allowing construction to begin on Morganza to the Gulf.\n\t\u201cWhile we're still working to strengthen the language for Morganza to the Gulf in the final bill, I\u2019m glad the House moved today to pass this crucial bill to compliment the Senate\u2019s water resources bill spearheaded by Senator Vitter earlier this year,\u201d Scalise said. \u201cAmong the many key reforms included in this bill is an amendment that Cedric Richmond and I offered to ensure that the Corps starts including the economic importance of flood protection projects in its cost-benefit analysis.\n\u201cAdditionally, the Manager\u2019s Amendment included in this bill finally allows construction on Morganza to move forward and be credited after more than two decades of delays and over $70 million in studies. Families in south Louisiana have long-demanded the ability to begin construction on this project, and I\u2019m glad Congress has finally granted them the flexibility they deserve.\n\t\u201cThe importance of the Morganza to the Gulf hurricane protection system cannot be overstated, as more than 200,000 Louisiana families remain vulnerable to flooding after decades of broken promises from the federal government and bureaucratic red-tape.\u00a0 I will continue working to ensure that critical projects like Morganza to the Gulf are included in the final bill.\u201d\n\tThe House bill will now head to a conference committee to be coupled with the water resources bill passed by the Senate.\nThe Scalise-Richmond Amendment directs the Corps to include the following in its economic analysis of a proposed flood protection project:\n\u00b7The benefits from a reduction in national and regional economic losses, such as a spike in gasoline prices caused by a hurricane.  \n\t\u00b7The benefits from a reduction in flood damage to public and private property and infrastructure.  \n\t\u00b7The benefits to public safety from the protection of important evacuation routes.", 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://scalise.house.gov/press-release/scalise-richmond-amendment-included-house-passed-wrrda-bill"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.4378462694585323, "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"}