As House and Senate negotiations to hash out a final “Water Resources Development Act” (WRDA) are primed to stretch into next year, the Obama Administration last week wrote top lawmakers with vague criticism of the proposed “Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act” (WIFIA).
The comments came in a letter signed by Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) Jo-Ellen Darcy that noted the Obama Administration’s support for “efficiently and effectively … carrying out important water projects,” and recommended various provisions for inclusion in the final WRDA legislation.
When discussing the WIFIA proposal (on page 5 of the letter), Darcy cited a National Infrastructure Bank as the Administration’s preferred innovative infrastructure-financing tool. The letter expressed neither support for, nor outright opposition to, the WIFIA proposal but said the Administration “has concerns” that WIFIA would “not provide Federal assistance in the most efficient manner.” Darcy’s letter did not elaborate on how the Administration reached this conclusion.
As proposed in 2011, the Obama Administration’s National Infrastructure Bank would offer loan assistance to transportation, energy and water infrastructure projects costing at least $100 million. But because water projects would be forced to compete for funding against higher-profile transportation projects, AMWA believes a water-specific WIFIA program is a much better model for meaningfully boosting water infrastructure investment.
AMWA members are still encouraged to contact their members of Congress in support of WIFIA in the coming weeks as WRDA negotiations continue. Members interested in sending WIFIA support letters should contact AMWA’s Dan Hartnett ([email protected]) for more information.