Rural Community Flood Protection Act of 2010

Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Rural Community Flood Protection Act of 2010.

We have all seen, and many of us have experienced firsthand, the devastation that a flood can bring to any community. This devastation is experienced equally, whether your home is in an area that is high or low hazard, rural or urban, wealthy or poor. Flood control is a multi- pronged effort involving structural and non-structural flood control measures, hazard mitigation, emergency planning, and insurance. Our Nation has a myriad of programs designed to address flood hazards. FEMA produces flood maps to define the risk and operates hazard mitigation programs to reduce risk. The National Flood Insurance Program, NFIP, provides flood insurance to property owners in a mapped risk area. The Army Corps of Engineers designs and constructs flood control projects. This hodgepodge of responsibilities has always been a challenge for the U.S., and it continues to be one today.

Nowhere is this challenge more evident than in the process of FEMA's map modernization program, the Corps' levee certification responsibilities, and NFIP program requirements. This issue has lingered around the edges for years, and its impact is now being felt in an enormous way in Montana where communities struggling to navigate the maze of what seems to be an overwhelming Federal bureaucracy are incredibly frustrated.

Let me begin by saying that it is important that we recognize the risks we face before we make snap judgments about whether preventive action should or shouldn't be taken. Specifically, it is a good idea for FEMA to update our Nation's flood maps so that we can be honest with ourselves about the risks we face. However, that process, must be transparent and it must recognize the differences between Sacramento, CA, and Saco, MT. It can be overwhelming for a small community in Montana to participate in this process. That is why I have written to FEMA Director Craig Fugate asking him to consider the needs of small, rural communities as the Agency progresses with its map modernization program.

Once flood hazards are accurately mapped, communities must work to ensure that their flood control structures, if they have them, are up to par and can actually provide protection for the hazards they face. Without a levee ``certification'' by a professional engineer, those portions of a community located behind the levee, believing for years that they had adequate flood protection, are suddenly faced with a map that depicts them as in the floodplain, unprotected, required to purchase flood insurance.

It seems like it would be a simple process to get a levee certification. Traditionally, the Army Corps has performed this work. However, in 2008 the Army Corps of Engineers established a policy that it would no longer perform levee certifications on non-Federally operated levees. This policy has left communities like Great Falls, Montana high and dry when it comes to a certification process. I wrote to the Corps of Engineers on February 18, 2010, asking the Agency to re-evaluate this policy.

I hope that the Corps will change their policy. But, Montana cannot wait for that to happen. Great Falls, Vaughn, Miles City, Glendive, Saco, Havre, Forsyth, Malta, Glasgow and others cannot wait for the Corps deliberations. That is why I am introducing legislation today that will give the Corps direct authority to perform levee certifications. In addition, my bill includes special provisions for small communities and for those levee districts that are operated by a volunteer staff, allowing the Corps to perform these certifications at 100 percent Federal cost.

This bill is one step in what will be a long process for all of us as we update and upgrade our knowledge of the risks posed by flooding, our current level of protection, and additional steps we need to take to ensure that lives and property are not unnecessarily lost. In the process of that upgrade, we cannot lose sight of the impact of this process and these decisions on our local communities.

We don't want the cost of staying in the NFIP to rise above the point where small communities can participate. We don't want a burdensome Federal bureaucracy to make it impossible for people to make good decisions about their own safety and that of their community. In these economic times, rural communities are struggling to come up with enough money just to keep afloat, and a hefty certification fee can be an undue burden.

I urge my colleagues to support this measure.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that letters of support be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, today, as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, I introduce the Veterans' Compensation Cost-of- Living Adjustment Act of 2010.

This measure would direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to increase, effective December 1, 2010, the rates of veterans' compensation to keep pace with the rising cost of living in this country, if such an adjustment is triggered by an increase in the Consumer Price Index. This legislation, commonly referred to as the COLA, would make an increase available to veterans at the same level as a cost-of-living increase, if provided to those who receive Social Security benefits.

My colleagues on the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, including Senators Burr, Rockefeller, Murray, Sanders, Brown of Ohio, Tester, Begich, Burris, Specter, Isakson, and Graham join me in introducing this important legislation. I appreciate their continued support of the Nation's veterans.

Congress regularly enacts a cost-of-living adjustment for veterans' compensation in order to ensure that inflation does not erode the purchasing power of those veterans and survivors who depend upon this income to meet their daily needs. Last year, Congress passed, and the President signed into law, Public Law 111-37. While there was no cost- of-living increase in 2010 due to a decline in the Consumer Price Index, the 2011 adjustment has not yet been determined.

The COLA affects, among other benefits, veterans' disability compensation and dependency and indemnity compensation for surviving spouses and children. It is projected that over 3.5 million veterans and survivors will be in receipt of compensation benefits in fiscal year 2011. Many of these recipients depend upon these tax-free payments not only to provide for their own basic needs, but those of their spouses and children as well.

It is important that we view veterans' compensation, including the COLA, and indeed all benefits earned by veterans, as a continuing cost of war. It is clear that the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan will continue to result in injuries and disabilities that will yield an increase in claims for compensation.

Payment of disability compensation to those of our Nation's veterans who have an illness or disability related to their service constitutes one of the central missions of the Department of Veterans Affairs. It is a necessary measure of appreciation afforded to those veterans whose lives were forever altered by their service to this country.

I urge our colleagues to work together to ensure this benefit remains

available and is not diminished by the effects of inflation. I also ask our colleagues for their continued support for the Nation's veterans.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.