Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07) led a bipartisan coalition of the Texas delegation calling on Congressional leadership to prioritize funding for coastal resiliency projects like the Texas Coastal Spine in the American Jobs Plan.  

In a letter sent to Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio, T&I Committee Ranking Member Sam Graves, and Congressional leadership, Representatives Lizzie Fletcher, Randy Weber (TX-14), Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX-30), Brian Babin (TX-36), Colin Allred (TX-32), Michael McCaul (TX-10), Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18), Troy Nehls (TX-22), Filemon Vela (TX-34), and Dan Crenshaw (TX-02) emphasized the unique conditions along the Texas Gulf Coast that make the Texas Coastal Spine project a national priority, and proposed including a funding stream dedicated specifically to regional coastal resiliency projects as a part of the American Jobs Plan.  

“This project to extend Galveston Island’s existing seawall and construct floodgates in Galveston is precisely the kind of visionary project that is called for in this moment.  It aligns with the goals of this Committee and the American Jobs Plan by taking seriously the need to protect against increasingly frequent and intense weather events,” the members wrote.  

They continue: “The costs of the potential human and environmental disaster of a storm surge along the Texas Gulf Coast and up the Houston Ship Channel are too great to bear.  Now is the time to be innovative and strategic and to spend our resources preparing, in partnership with our local stakeholders and capable federal partners.” 

The American Jobs Plan outlines President Biden’s infrastructure priorities, including strengthening infrastructure in areas vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.  The T&I Committee is currently crafting its legislation to move forward the American Jobs Plan.  Dedicating a stream of funding specifically for coastal resiliency projects will help ensure that there is a federal funding mechanism in place when the Texas Coastal Spine project is ready to move forward.  Representatives Randy Weber, Eddie Bernice Johnson, Brian Babin, Colin Allred, and Troy Nehls are all current members of the T&I Committee.  Congresswoman Fletcher served on the committee last Congress. 

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers unveiled its second draft plan to construct a coastal storm barrier along the Gulf Coast in October 2020, and it plans to publish its final report for approval by Congress later this year.  The project will then need to be authorized by Congress.  Federal funding is currently estimated to comprise 65 percent of the project cost. 

The full text of the members’ letter is available here.