"The storm damage to beaches on LBI must be addressed before we are hit by another major storm," Saxton said. "The mayors know that, I know that, the residents of the island know that. We have been lucky so far, but if repairs to the dunes and the beaches aren't made, sooner or later a big storm will come and do hundreds of millions of dollars of damage. It will be a replay of the storm that battered LBI in 1962."

The House of Representatives has $1.75 million slated in previous budgets for the LBI project, but Saxton is seeking up to $15 million in additional funds for the project.

"I will continue to press for more funding to be added to the budget," Saxton said. "We need to protect the many homes that have suffered storm damage in Ocean County."

Funding of $750,000 was included in the 2005 bill for construction of the LBI project, which will provide storm damage repair and protection from Barnegat Inlet to Little Egg Harbor. This is in addition to the $1 million approved by Congress in 2003. Ideally, the project needs $5 million to $10 million for the first phase. The LBI project is in the final stages of the permit approval process, after which the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will prepare to put the project out to bid.

The pre-engineering and design work and permitting process for the LBI project have been underway since 1993 and are now complete. Congress has spent over $3.3 million to engineer and design the LBI project.

"Hurricanes and Nor' Easters are an annual threat to LBI," Saxton said. "Some day, a storm will land a direct hit on the island. I only hope the LBI project will be completed when that day comes."

Saxton said projects for repairing beach damage are not a luxury for the Jersey Shore. They are directly tied to our multi-billion dollar tourism economy.

"I will continue to work with the mayors to make sure we build this storm protection project," Saxton said.