Overwhelming Approval of $10 Billion WRRDA Bill in House

On Oct. 23, the House of Representatives passed the Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA), H.R. 3080, by a 417-3 vote. With AGC members sending hundreds of letters of support to their members of Congress and an active AGC lobbying campaign, the WRRDA bill passed by an overwhelming margin, despite opposition from anti-construction funding and environmental groups. AGC would like to thank all of our members and chapters who sent letters in support of WRRDA. The WRRDA bill authorizes approximately $10 billion for new construction projects—navigation, flood control, locks, dams, and environment restoration—through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) Civil Works program.  To view the potential new projects, see pages 155 through 160 of the bill. Aside from authorizing new projects, the bill includes a host of other AGC contractor priorities, including project delivery and environmental streamlining, improving the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund and the Inland Waterways Trust Fund, a public-private partnership pilot program that leverages, but does not replace, government funding for water resources projects. You can also find a detailed, side-by-side analysis of the House and Senate bills here. As with the Senate’s passage of its WRRDA bill S. 601 in May, AGC actively pressed for its WRRDA priorities in the House. AGC met with over 70 House offices, coordinated the signatures of over 50 AGC chapters on a business community WRRDA support letter in anticipation of House action, sent letters of support through two AGC-co-chaired multi-industry coalitions—the Transportation Construction Coalition and the Water Resources Coalition —as well as AGC's own letter of support. AGC continues to advocate and coordinate concerted support for passage of a pro-reform and pro-water resources infrastructure investment WRRDA bill. Now, a conference committee comprised of members from both chambers will commence to reconcile the differences between the House and Senate WRRDA bills before final passage. AGC will continue to press for enactment of a final WRRDA bill that includes the construction industry’s priorities. For more information, please contact Jimmy Christianson at (703) 837-5325 or christiansonj@agc.org.