mr. himes: of particular interest to me is the special role that the army corps plays in mitigating floods created by severe weather events in our communities. i know i'm not the only member in this room whose district was avaged by superstorm andy. -- superstorm sandy. chairman frellen hughesen -- frelinghuysen's district was also affected by the storm and sandy is only an example of the magnitude of damage our cities and towns suffer when they're not adequately prepared. with limited resources available after a storm like sandy, flood mitigation efforts have become more important than ever. an ounce of prevention is, as they say, worth a pound of cure. mr. chairman, madam chairman, back in 2010 i was able to secure an authorization for the army corps of engineers to conduct flood mitigation studies in my area. studies that would culminate in an important recommendation for preventing future flood damages in fairfield county. like those that occurred during sandy, irene and countless other sto