Remarks
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.
Good morning. I want to thank all of you for coming to today’s hearing to receive testimony from our colleagues. I look forward to hearing more about the projects, programs and issues in the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs Appropriations bill that are important to your district and to communities across the country.
Your input is critical as we work to fund the agencies under this Subcommittee’s jurisdiction. I look forward to working with Ranking Member Wasserman Schultz and our Subcommittee colleagues to accommodate these priorities as best we can as the Fiscal Year 2026 appropriations process moves forward. Thank you again for taking time to speak with us today and bring these important issues in your community to our attention.
Ms. Wasserman Schultz, I yield to you for any opening remarks you’d like to make.
Thank you, Chairman Carter and Ranking Member Wasserman Schultz, and thank you, Secretary Collins, for being with us today.
We owe our freedoms to our veteran heroes, and that includes the over 285,000 veterans who make Oklahoma their home. The mission of the Department of Veterans Affairs remains to fulfill America’s promise to care for those who have served in our nation’s military and for their families, caregivers, and survivors. No one in this room will contest how critically important that is. However, in meeting that duty, I think we can also all agree there are areas where VA is falling short and services can be improved.
The status quo is not cutting it, and I wish to recognize your initiative to address this.
