Next in the House: Bipartisan water resources bill

The bill authorizes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to maintain U.S. ports and waterways, and complete flood protection projects. In the past, water resources bills have passed every few years, but Congress has not updated the authorization for these projects since 2007.

{mosads}The bill, from Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.), includes reforms aimed at speeding up project delivery by eliminating duplicative studies and requiring concurrent reviews, and streamlining environmental reviews. It also seeks to save money to offsetting new project authorizations with reauthorizations.

“This bill contains no earmarks and makes reforms needed to increase transparency, accountability, and Congressional oversight of federal water resources development,” Shuster said in September

“At its heart, WRRDA is about jobs and improving America’s competitiveness,” he said. “A strong water transportation network is critical to keeping pace with other nations that are improving their own infrastructure networks and gaining ground in an increasingly competitive global marketplace.”

The legislation cleared the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in a unanimous voice vote in September.

Late Wednesday night, Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) asked unanimous consent that the Committee has until Monday to file a report to accompany the bill.

House work on the legislation is expected as early as Wednesday.