INTRODUCING LEGISLATION TO SUPPORT SMALL BUSINESSES IN SOUTHERN AND EASTERN KENTUCKY; Congressional Record Vol. 155, No. 87
(Extensions of Remarks - June 11, 2009)
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[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1376]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
INTRODUCING LEGISLATION TO SUPPORT SMALL BUSINESSES IN SOUTHERN AND
EASTERN KENTUCKY
______
HON. HAROLD ROGERS
of kentucky
in the house of representatives
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Madam Speaker, today I rise with my colleague
and fellow Kentuckian, Congressman Ed Whitfield, to raise awareness
about an important issue impacting a number of small businesses in our
region of the country.
Scenic Lake Cumberland has been the hub of economic development in
our area of southern Kentucky for years. Some 4 million visitors stop
by every year to take advantage of the lake's many attractions--world
class bass fishing, relaxing atop a custom built houseboat, or boating
with family and friends. These visitors pump over $70 million into our
local economy, benefiting a wide array of businesses in the surrounding
counties. However, with our nation's economy floundering and the
Commonwealth's unemployment rate of nearly 10 percent hovering above
the national average, the houseboat and marina industries surrounding
Lake Cumberland are hemorrhaging--and so too are our people whose
livelihoods rely on the lake as a lifeline.
While the overall economy is part of the problem, business conditions
at Lake Cumberland have suffered an even greater share in large part
due to a long delayed and deferred federal rehabilitation and
construction project at Wolf Creek Dam. An unfortunate consequence of
construction at the dam has been the necessity to temporarily lower the
pool of the lake from the traditional level of 720 feet to 680 feet.
This significant drawdown has had a substantial adverse impact on the
ten local concessionaries leasing marina space from the Corps of
Engineers. Many marinas have had to incur tremendous expenses to
accommodate the lower pool, such as relocation and investments in
additional infrastructure, and these unanticipated expenses have
significantly disrupted their cash flow. The legislation we've
introduced today ensures that the federal government fulfills its
obligation to those concessionaries with which it has entered into
leasing agreements and provides some relief for these unforeseeable
expenses that have the potential to set back the economy of an entire
region. These measures include suspending burdensome rental payments
until it is safe to restore the lake level, as well as reimbursing
marina operators for expenses directly tied to this continued drawdown.
Finally, the bill makes whole the surrounding communities that rely
heavily on these rental payments.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been tasked and is hard at work
with correcting structural issues with the dam to shore up the dam for
future generations to enjoy, and Congress has diligently provided vital
funds for the continuation of this project. I have no argument with
this work or the funding. However, no relief has been made available to
those who have tied their livelihoods to this lake and who, through no
fault of their own, are enduring a government-induced hardship. The
bill introduced today will correct this and provide some measure of
relief to the hardworking small business owners scattered along
beautiful Lake Cumberland.
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