AMWA joined other key water sector stakeholders at a meeting convened last week by the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee who urged the groups to press Senate leaders to bring the “Water Resources Development Act” (WRDA) up for a vote before Congress begins its summer recess in July.
As approved by the EPW Committee in April, WRDA (S. 2848) includes a series of new programs to help communities and schools upgrade their water infrastructure to reduce public health threats related to lead. The bill would also target $100 million worth of infrastructure funding to Flint, Michigan via the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, and would jumpstart the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) pilot program with $70 million in funding. Supporters on the EPW Committee believe EPA would be able to leverage these WIFIA dollars into at least $700 million worth of loans to communities nationwide.
At the time of WRDA’s passage through committee lawmakers on the panel expressed confidence the measure would receive a vote on the Senate floor before the chamber begins its summer recess on July 15. But that confidence has waned in recent weeks as the bill has yet to appear on the floor schedule. The delay prompted last week’s meeting, where EPW Chairman James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and ranking member Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) made a bipartisan plea for stakeholders to press Senate leaders to act on the bill as quickly as possible.
Chairman Inhofe said WRDA would receive strong bipartisan support if brought up for a floor vote. And Sen. Boxer warned the bill could fall victim to election year politics if it is delayed until after Congress returns to Washington in September.
AMWA is working with other water sector stakeholders to urge Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to hold a WRDA vote as soon as possible, and individual AMWA members are encouraged to deliver a similar message to their own senators as well. Please contact AMWA’s Dan Hartnett ([email protected]) for more information or a sample letter that may be used as a template for communications with your senators.