To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to reauthorize the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Restoration Program, and for other purposes.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for the opportunity to talk about this important legislation.

Before I get started, I do want to thank the chair of the subcommittee, Mrs. Napolitano; the ranking member, Mr. Rouzer from North Carolina; Chairman DeFazio; and Ranking Member Sam Graves as well. I do want to thank some of the other partners from Louisiana we worked with, Congressman Steve Scalise, former Congressman Cedric Richmond, and Congressman Troy Carter, who all worked with us on this important legislation.

Madam Speaker, Lake Pontchartrain is one of the largest saltwater lakes in the United States. It is incredibly productive. It is a productive ecosystem. There is much fishing, shrimping, and crabbing and oysters that are produced there. As a matter of fact, since 1997, over 40 million pounds of blue crabs have been produced almost annually.

The secret, Madam Speaker, if you can keep this between the two of us, is that much of that is actually headed to Maryland restaurants to improve Maryland crab cakes. That is right. Just don't tell anybody. They also put spice on the outside of the shells. It is really confusing what they do. The meat is on the inside.

But in any case, Madam Speaker, this is a huge watershed. It is about a 10,000-square-mile watershed, that comprises 16 parishes and four Mississippi counties, into this lake.

But more importantly, and why there is a Federal nexus here, is that, since the first time in 1937, they open the nearly 7,000-acre Bonnet Carre Spillway to shift water from the Mississippi River into Lake Pontchartrain and ultimately to the Gulf of Mexico as an emergency pressure relief valve. You see, Madam Speaker, the Mississippi River drains 32 States and two Canadian provinces. This is one of the largest watersheds in the world, and the Mississippi River is the largest watershed in the United States.

When the water hits a certain level--again, since 1937, when they began opening this, and it has been opened an

average of once every 10 years--it sends huge flows, hundreds of thousands of cubic feet of water per second, out of the Mississippi River into the Bonnet Carre Spillway and into Lake Pontchartrain, and it shifts from a salt or a brackish lake into a freshwater lake because of this huge surge.

As a result of the floodwaters coming from Canada and all over the United States, they come and impact the ecosystem of this lake.

So, what this legislation does is builds upon some of the efforts for ecological restoration.

I want to thank the great work of Carlton Dufrechou, Kristi Trail, and others who have done an amazing job in working to restore the ecological function of Lake Pontchartrain.

I again want to thank all the cosponsors and folks who have helped us to work on this legislation. It did pass unanimously last Congress, and I want to remind everybody here that there is a huge Federal nexus with this legislation. I urge its adoption.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1921) to amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to reauthorize the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Restoration Program, and for other purposes.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 1921.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1921. This legislation reauthorizes the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Restoration Program for 5 years at $20 million annually and provides for regular reporting on the progress of the program.

Some 2.1 million people live in the area surrounding Lake Pontchartrain, which is threatened by pollution related to urban and agricultural runoff, sewage overflows, and nonpoint source pollution. The Basin Restoration Program helps address these environmental challenges in a nonregulatory fashion and has made some progress. With continued funding and reauthorization, the program can continue implementing projects related to restoration.

During a Water Resources Subcommittee hearing last Congress, some implementation issues related to this program were identified. Ranking Member Graves and Chair DeFazio requested that the U.S. Government Accountability Office study the program implementation; however, those issues should not prevent us from acting on this bill today.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1921, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, H.R. 1921, the Protect and Restore Lake Pontchartrain Basin Act, introduced by my friend Garret Graves from Louisiana, would reauthorize the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Restoration Program to provide assistance to the Federal, State, and local watershed partners in addressing the water quality challenges that are in this especially sensitive area.

I support the critical work these partners are doing to help restore the water quality of the lake, and this bill will help continue this work.

I commend Aviation Subcommittee Ranking Member Garret Graves for his leadership on this issue, and I urge support of this legislation. I have no further speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Graves), who is the Aviation Subcommittee ranking member.

Madam Speaker, H.R. 1921 would reauthorize an important program that supports the critical efforts of the Federal, State, and local watershed partners in restoring water quality in the Lake Pontchartrain Basin.

Madam Speaker, I urge support of this important legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, on June 15, 2022, I voted against bills En Bloc. Had H.R. 610, H.R. 293, H.R. 587, H.R. 1144, H.R. 1921, H.R. 2008, H.R. 2332, H.R. 2545, and H.R. 3642 each received a standalone vote, I would have voted in support of each bill. I opposed the En Bloc because I oppose H.R. 1703.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to section 8 of House Resolution 473, I move to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 293, H.R. 587, H.R. 610, H.R. 1144, H.R. 1703, H.R. 1921, H.R. 2008, H.R. 2332, H.R. 2545, and