Fleischmann Remarks at Oversight Hearing on the State of the Civil Works Program

The hearing will come to order.

It is my pleasure to welcome Lieutenant General Butch Graham, the Chief of Engineers and Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, to discuss the state of the civil works program. Joining General Graham are, Major General Mark C. Quander, Commanding General of the Great Lakes and Ohio River Division; Brigadier General Daniel Hibner, Commanding General of the South Atlantic Division; Colonel James J. Handura, Commander of the South Pacific Division; and Colonel George H. Walter, Commander of the Southwestern Division.

These Division Commanders have made themselves available to address project execution from a local and regional perspective. 

Few federal programs have such a direct and immediate impact on the American people’s daily lives as the Army Corps of Engineers’ civil works program. The mission underpins America’s economic competitiveness, promotes public safety, and protects trillions of dollars in private investment and economic activity. Congress expects the Corps to address some of the nation’s most complex and high-profile challenges, and the Corps does tremendous work to deliver on this critical mission. 

The Corps also faces many challenges inherent to government contracting. We would all prefer to see federal construction projects delivered at the cost and speed of the private sector.

However, patterns have emerged in recent years that go beyond the regular course of business. I continue to hear from my colleagues and stakeholders about projects of all sizes, in different parts of the country, and with little else in common, all facing similar issues and fact patterns. The Chickamauga Lock in my district has experienced many of these same challenges, which we’ll have time to discuss later in the hearing.

Congress has provided record funding for the Corps in annual Energy and Water Appropriations Acts and tens of billions more in supplemental appropriations over much of the last decade. We have funded several major construction projects to completion – some multiple times – only for the Corps to tell us they need more.

Projects are derailed due to inadequate engineering, requiring the Corps to go back to the drawing board in the middle of construction. The Corps has all but abandoned design and engineering when studying projects to recommend for construction, leading Chiefs of Engineers to certify cost estimates and projects plans based on concepts not designs. We are building the plane while we are flying it.

Meanwhile, we have heard from many Corps stakeholders about the need to modernize the Corps’ contracting process. Private industry would never procure complex infrastructure projects in the same way. Contracting improvements alone can reduce uncertainty, improve affordability, and enhance engineering quality earlier in the life of a project.

Many project sponsors feel they have no choice but to plead with our friends on the authorizing committees for the federal government to foot larger shares of these much larger bills. I don’t blame anyone who comes to that conclusion. But every time that cycle repeats, the choices facing this Subcommittee become more difficult, worsening the outlook for every project in America.

The Corps executes a no-fail mission, and there is always more to be done. We need to finish what we start so that we can deliver for our constituents, and achieving those goals requires the Corps to define success and measure progress. 

General Graham, you are new in this role and certainly have your work cut out for you. I greatly appreciate the attention you have already given to these issues and the vision you laid out in your written testimony. I look forward to today’s discussion and working with you to promote a healthy and sustainable civil works program for the American people. 

I will now turn to my Ranking Member, Ms. Kaptur, for her opening statement.