Jan. 12, 2018 — On Jan. 10, the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) held a full committee hearing titled, “America’s Water Infrastructure Needs and Challenges."
The hearing focused specifically on a passing a new Water Resource Development Act (WRDA) during the 115th Congress and what would be included in that bill. WRDA authorizes funding for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works program.
Both Chairman John Barrasso (R-WY) and Ranking Member Tom Carper (D-DE) spoke about how economic reliance on the Corps work is important for both coastal and inland waterways.
The hearing featured testimony from
- Julie Ufner, associate legislative director at the National Association of Counties;
- Scott Robinson, port director at the Muskogee City-County Port Authority in Oklahoma;
- Steve Cochran, associate vice president for coastal protection at the Restore the Mississippi Delta Coalition;
- William Friedman, chairman-elect at the American Association of Port Authorities; and
- Nicole Carter, Natural Resources Policy Specialist at the Congressional Research Service.
The committee's website contains a video recording of the webcast as well as the written statements of those invited to testify.
