It’s a puzzle to us.

Back in early 2006, Sen Mary Landrieu led a congressional delegation — along with a number of local elected officials from Southeast Louisiana — to Holland to get a first-hand look at that country’s flood control system.

Despite all of their accolades and all of the hoopla surrounding the trip, the group must have missed, or forgotten, something. That’s because we taxpayers have just spent another few bags full of money to fund another trip … led by Sen. Landrieu.

According to numerous websites pertaining to the Dutch system of flood control, which centers on huge gates, little has changed since Trip No. 1. So, why did we need Trip No. 2.

Was there a little shop that had great prices on chocolate or tulips and the only way to take advantage was to take a CoDEL? We like the word CoDEL, because it is government-speak at its very best … just say CoDEL instead of congressional delegation.

Why can’t Congress just get the funds in place and let us hire someone like Brown & Root instead of having to keep hearing about this problem from the Corps of Engineers or that problem?

Why can’t Congress take some of the 95 percent of unspent monies that just had to be allocated to jumpstart everything and use it? Heck, it would create tons of jobs … make editorial writers stop criticism the administration for jamming a bill through at 11 p.m. and signing it the next morning … then sitting on top of the bags of money, like a mother hen on her eggs.

But now, that we’ve had two CoDEL’s et al go to Holland and proclaim the system a good one, what will it take to get one government off its assets and moving forward on a working plan?