Fleischmann Remarks at Budget Hearing on Army Corps of Engineers (Civil Works) and the Bureau of Reclamation

It is my pleasure to welcome Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, Robyn Colosimo, and Chief of Engineers and Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Lieutenant General Butch Graham, to discuss the Fiscal Year 2026 budget request for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. I am equally pleased to welcome Senior Advisor to the Secretary, Scott Cameron, to discuss the request for the Bureau of Reclamation and Central Utah Project.

We scheduled this hearing with the expectation that we would have the full budget request for these critical programs. I appreciate the challenge facing any new administration in submitting a timely budget request to Congress; however, we cannot do our work without those details. I hope we can expect that information soon, so we can begin the important work of funding our nation’s water resource development programs. 

In the meantime, the Administration has provided a topline budget request for the Corps and Reclamation, highlighting specific areas where reductions are proposed. The request for the Corps totals $6.7 billion, a reduction of $2 billion, or roughly 23 percent. Within the total for the Corps, $1.7 billion is proposed for Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund activities, which is approximately $1.8 billion below the maximum offset provided in law. Consistent with prior years, the budget request does not maximize investment in our nation’s ports and harbors.

One of my top priorities is continuing progress on the recapitalization of our nation’s inland waterways system. I was pleased to see $32 million included in the Fiscal Year 2025 work plan to award an additional option for the final contract at Chickamauga Lock. I want to express my gratitude for the Trump Administration’s prioritization of this important project in my district. I look forward to working with our witnesses to get Chick Lock across the finish line.

I appreciated the work plan’s robust investment in construction on the inland waterways system more broadly, and I hope the full Fiscal Year 2026 budget continues that support. We expect significant outyear demands for this work, and the longer we wait to address today’s needs, the more difficult it will be to manage tomorrow’s. 

For the Bureau of Reclamation and Central Utah Project, the request proposes a total of $1.2 billion, a stated reduction of $609 million, or approximately 35% below the enacted level. I am concerned that at this level, we will not be able to address the most pressing water resources needs across the West. 

Of particular concern is the ability to continue progress on existing Indian Water Rights Settlements. Upholding our nation’s treaty and trust responsibilities is among the Department of the Interior’s highest priorities, and we cannot afford to fail in delivering access to safe and reliable water supplies across Indian Country.

We will wait for the details of the request to analyze the proposal’s impact on farmers, ranchers, and households across the West that depend on Reclamation’s water and power delivery mission.

I appreciate our witnesses for being here today to explain your budget requests and discuss the Administration’s priorities for these agencies. I look forward to working with you and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to develop a bill that addresses our nation’s most pressing water resources development challenges.