The U.S. Senate should vote on the “Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2016” before Congress departs Washington next month for a lengthy recess, AMWA and 15 other water, local government and research organizations wrote to Senate leaders on June 17.
The Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee approved the WRDA bill (S. 2848) in April. The bill included a series of new programs to help communities and schools upgrade their water infrastructure to reduce public health threats related to lead, such as targeting $100 million worth of infrastructure funding to Flint, Michigan via the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund and jumpstarting the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) pilot program with $70 million in funding. At the time of committee approval, EPW leaders expressed confidence that the full Senate would vote on the measure before Congress begins its summer recess on July 15.
But with the recess fast approaching the bill has yet to appear on the Senate schedule. EPW leaders recently urged WRDA stakeholders to lobby Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to put the bill on the floor as soon as possible.
AMWA’s letter requesting action on the bill noted that, in addition to the WIFIA and SRF funding, the measure would “help cities and towns reduce public health risks posed by lead, [and] offer aid to schools seeking to improve the quality of their drinking water.”
AMWA also signed a second pro-WRDA letter organized by the American Society of Civil Engineers on June 22. That letter, which was signed by a total of 87 municipal and business organizations, argued that without action on the legislation “delays may continue to unnecessarily increase [water] project costs and jeopardize the efficacy of critical flood control structures.”