Construction Association Chief Asks Whether This is the Kind of Funding Some in Congress Now Deride as “Wasteful Spending,” How Much Would Floods Have Cost Without Protections
The chief executive officer of the Associated General Contractors of America, Stephen E. Sandherr, issued the following statement today in response to success of flood control systems along the Mississippi River:
“Seemingly lost in the coverage of the recent flooding many parts of the country have experienced has been how the federally-funded flood control infrastructure has performed as designed. Granted, the recent floods that have been slowly working their way through the Mississippi River basin have destroyed homes, damaged towns, taken lives and threatened agricultural and economic activity. Yet as destructive as they have been and continue to be, they would have been much worse had it not been for the complex flood control network built along the river's path. That system of locks, levies and spillways was built thanks to a decades-long federal commitment to investing in flood control infrastructure.
“As the waters continue, hopefully, to recede and we reflect on what has been saved because of this vital flood control infrastructure, it is worth asking whether these are the kinds of investments some in Congress deride as wasteful spending. It also is worth asking how much more flood damages would have cost our national economy and the federal treasury had the federal government not had the forethought to invest in vital protections.
“As our association’s new ‘Case for Infrastructure and Reform’ makes clear, there is a strong and compelling case for continued federal investments in infrastructure even in this new era of fiscal austerity. There are few more compelling reminders of the value of those investments than how the nation’s flood control measures are working along the Mississippi River right now.”