The four leaders of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure applauded the House passing the Water Resources Development Act of 2020 as part of the year-end omnibus and COVID-19 relief package.
Sens. Peter DeFazio (D-OR), chair of the committee; Sam Graves (R-MO), ranking member on the committee; Grace Napolitano (D-CA), chair of the subcommittee on water resources and environment and Bruce Westerman (R-AZ) ranking member of the water and environment subcommittee, joined in praising the passage of the bipartisan bill.
Since 2014, the bill has been developed and passed every two years. Officials said it is important to our country’s ports, harbors, and inland waterways, as well as to the ecosystem and to flood mitigation in rural and urban communities.
“The bipartisan legislation approved today is critical to communities across all 50 states, and includes key provisions to invest in our ports, harbors and inland waterways; build more resilient communities; and ensure that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers carries out projects in an economically and environmentally responsible manner,” DeFazio said. “I am particularly proud that this legislation achieves my decades-long mission to unlock the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund by allowing billions of dollars in already-collected HMTF fees to be used for their intended purpose—ensuring that maintenance needs of U.S. ports and harbors are met.”
The legislation authorizes $9.9 billion in federal funds for 46 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects, covering everything from flood control to environmental restoration to coastal protection, and would fund 27 feasibility studies.
“WRDA 2020 will help strengthen the Nation’s global competitiveness, grow the economy, protect our communities, and create jobs. In particular, the vital flood control and risk reduction improvements in this bill will help safeguard communities throughout North Missouri and around the country,” Graves said. “In working to finalize this critical water resources legislation, I want to thank my colleagues in both the House and Senate. It’s important that Congress is maintaining its regular oversight of the Corps of Engineers and continuing consideration of WRDA every two years. This bipartisan, bicameral legislation remains a model for how Congress can work together to address our Nation’s infrastructure needs.”