WRDA Conference Committee Begins

AGC Continues to Advocate for the Construction Industry’s Priorities On Nov. 20, select members of the House and Senate—called conferees—gathered to begin work on resolving the discrepancies between the two chambers respective Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) bills in a conference committee. AGC has been active throughout the WRDA legislative process and advocated for the construction industry’s WRDA priorities in a letter to all conferees, detailing which provisions and policies in both bills should be included in a final WRDA bill. In both its letter and continuing lobbying efforts, AGC articulates the need for: (1) An adequate and efficient project authorization process; (2) Spending harbor maintenance tax revenues on harbor maintenance, addressing the Olmsted Locks and Dam project in a way that allows other necessary inland waterways projects to proceed; (3) Environmental streamlining and project delivery acceleration through limiting the time to file lawsuits on projects under the National Environmental Policy Act and setting firm deadlines for pre-construction project studies; and (4) Innovative financing methods—including a public private partnership pilot program and Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Authority—that supplement, not replace, traditional government funding for water resources infrastructure. The House passed its WRDA bill in October by an overwhelming 417-3 vote. The Senate also passed its version of the bill in May on an equally impressive, bipartisan 83-14 vote. During their conference meeting, the only legislative issue of some controversy was the environmental streamlining provisions.  The conference committee is expected to last a number of weeks. Construction reports indicate that final passage on a WRDA bill could come as early as mid-December. AGC will continue to advocate for the construction industry’s legislative priorities as conferees continue their discussions. For more information, please contact Jimmy Christianson at (703) 837-5325 or christiansonj@agc.org.