U.S. House of Representatives Clears Water Resources Development Act

The U.S. House of Representatives yesterday approved the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2018 (H.R. 8), bipartisan legislation that provides for improvements to the Nation’s ports, inland waterways, locks, dams, flood protection, ecosystem restoration, etc.

According to the official U.S. House of Representatives’ statement, the bill passed by a vote of 408 to 2.

The legislation authorizes proposed U.S. Army Corps of Engineers civil works activities and provides reforms to the Corps.

The bill was introduced by Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster, Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Ranking Member Peter DeFazio, Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee Chairman Garret Graves, and Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee Ranking Member Grace Napolitano.

“WRDA Works, and we need to ensure that WRDA continues to work for the American people,” said Chairman Shuster.

“WRDA works because these are investments in the type of infrastructure that is vital to every American and every part of the country. The health of this infrastructure directly impacts how efficiently the things we buy get onto store shelves, how quickly the goods we produce get to markets around the world, how competitive our businesses and farmers are, and how effectively our communities are protected from floods. I look forward to working with the Senate to send a final WRDA measure to the president that builds our water infrastructure, grows our economy, and creates jobs.”

WRDA 2018:

• Authorizes locally driven, but nationally vital, investments in the Nation’s water resources infrastructure;
• Strengthens economic growth and competitiveness, helps move goods throughout the country and abroad, and protects communities;
• Follows the transparent process Congress established under the 2014 reforms for considering proposed Army Corps of Engineers activities;
• Builds upon previous reforms of the Corps to further accelerate the process for moving projects forward more efficiently and at lower cost;
• Upholds Congress’ constitutional duty to provide for infrastructure and facilitate commerce for the Nation.