House GOP to unveil water infrastructure bill

{mosads}The Democratically-controlled Senate’s plan calls for allowing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to select projects for investment from the water bill. Shuster criticized that approach during a speech in March, arguing that it gave too much authority to the Obama administration.

Supporters of the Senate approach counter that it is necessary to allow someone other than Congress to select the projects that will receive investments in the water bill because lawmakers doing so themselves could be read as a violation of the House’s ban on earmarks.

The WRRDA bill only contains the authorization for expenditures on waterways. The funding itself will have to be approved by the congressional appropriations committees.

Shuster will be accompanied on Wednesday by the ranking Democrat on the House Transportation Committee, Rep. Nick Rahall (D-W. Va.) and the leaders of the panel’s on Water Resources and Environment subcommittee.