The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has released a bipartisan draft of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2016.
This legislation will address the needs of America’s harbors, locks, dams, flood protection and other water resources infrastructure and help strengthen the Nation’s economic competitiveness.
Committee leaders plan to formally introduce the bill this week and mark up the legislation on Wednesday, May 25, 2016, at 10:00 a.m.
WRDA 2016 is Congress’ return to the regular, biannual process of authorizing projects and activities related to the key missions of the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, including developing and maintaining the Nation’s waterway infrastructure and supporting effective and targeted flood protection and environmental restoration needs.
“The legislation will strengthen our coastal communities and our environment, create and sustain jobs, and enhance navigation to enable our ports to remain competitive in the world economy ,” said Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Ranking Member Peter DeFazio.
“In addition, this bill includes a critical provision to ensure that, in the future, funds collected in the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund will be used for their intended purpose – harbor maintenance.”
The legislation, which contains no earmarks, maintains the strong bipartisan reforms included in the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014, and adheres to the new transparent process established in that law for congressional review of proposed Corps water resources development activities.