Water resources bill passes

Blog Post

Earlier this week, the House passed the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). The bill addresses the needs of America’s harbors, locks, dams, flood protection, and other water resources infrastructure. It also includes funding to deal with the water crisis in Flint, Michigan.

WRDA passed the House by a wide bipartisan margin of 399 to 25. 

Following the oversight and review process set forth in the 2014 law, WRDA 2016 authorizes infrastructure improvements that have been proposed at the local level, reviewed by the Corps according to strict congressionally established criteria, and submitted to Congress for consideration. 

As part of a deal to move forward with both WRDA and the short-term CR, the House added $170 million in funding to deal with the Flint water crisis. The funding is intended to help Flint replace dangerous lead water pipes.

Because the Senate did not include Flint funding in its version of WRDA, a conference committee will be required to iron out differences between the two bills. A conference committee will not occur until after the November elections.