U.S. Senator Katie Britt Discusses Alabama Infrastructure and Dredging Priorities with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-Ala.) joined a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development Hearing on the Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 President's Budget request for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation. She spoke with witnesses Lieutenant General William H. Graham, Jr., Chief of Engineers and Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Adam Telle, Assistant Secretary of the Army to discuss several Alabama infrastructure priorities.

Senator Britt began by thanking Assistant Secretary Telle and Lieutenant General Graham for their work on improving the Mobile Harbor: "(I) want to express my appreciation for what you've done for the Mobile Harbor project and this year's work plan. The newly deepened ship channel is truly transformative to the state of Alabama, to the entire Gulf Coast region, and ultimately to commerce, and as a critical gateway for our entire nation. I appreciate the Corp's attention to the dredging and material management techniques that are being utilized there in Mobile Bay. So thank you so much for being so intentional in that space. Maximizing the Corp's resources is important, but so is ensuring that we are good stewards of the Bay's natural resources, especially when so many jobs and industries and local communities depend on the health and the beauty and the fruitfulness of the wildlife there in Mobile Bay."

Senator Britt then highlighted the Upper Mobile Bay beneficial use site, asking how the Corps will ensure that critical infrastructure projects are approved more quickly moving forward: "And that brings me to something I think we can all agree on and that is the streamlining of the permitting process. So with the Upper Mobile Bay beneficial use site is a major accomplishment made … possible through the collaboration … of the Port of Mobile, local stakeholders and the Corps. However, despite the broad support, the permitting process for that site took more than five years. … [H]ow does the Corps broader initiative focused on reducing red tape and improving efficiencies help streamline overlapping permitting and environmental review processes between the Corps and the EPA so that critical infrastructure projects and beneficial use projects can move forward more quickly?"

Assistant Secretary Telle discussed the steps the Army Corps is taking to streamline these processes: "I think I've heard on a bipartisan basis frustrations with the permitting process at the federal level. And I will say that building infrastructure, not paperwork, and the actions taken by the Trump administration over the last year and a half, have done a tremendous amount to streamline this process … part of building infrastructure, not paperwork, is really about asking our partners at ports to think about this in advance, work with us to find these sites, and then when they come to us, making sure that the process is streamlined. In the case you're talking about beneficial use of material in the Mobile Bay, this is critically important."

The Senator questioned the Corps' budget adjustments with regards to staff salaries: "…[T]here's been some back and forth about … the changes to the budgeting process with regards to staff salaries. Can you talk a little bit about how that change would ultimately allow you to maybe better execute projects in the long term?"

Assistant Secretary Telle responded, saying in part, "This budget includes, for the first time ever, a split between project costs and salaries and expenses. This provides you with clarity about what you're buying, and it allows us to have a workforce that can count on their salaries, whether or not they're tied to a project. We think the delinking and decoupling and the commingling of these funds will result in a workforce whose incentives are more aligned with delivery …"

In the Senator's final line of questioning, she urged the Corp's continued support for the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, saying, "It's a critical piece of our nation's inland navigation network. As you know, we had a study that was authorized by WRDA, and I've worked with the subcommittee to help secure the funding to support that, just given the importance of that corridor both in Alabama and the country. I wanted to ask for your commitment to continue working with my office to ensure that we can move this study and project forward in the future."

Assistant Secretary Telle responded, "Senator, absolutely."

You can view the Senator's full remarks here.

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