The Senate version of the Water Resources Development Bill (WRDA), S. 2800, that won the Senate EPW Committee’s approval on May 22 will be rewritten before it heads to a final vote on the Senate floor, according to Committee Chair Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY).
Barrasso acknowledged at a July 11 hearing that the bill as written can’t move forward after an analysis from the Congressional Budget Office found it would boost the deficit by more than $3 billion over the next decade. He said the scope of the bill, S. 2800, will be reined in before it heads to the Senate floor, which he told reporters could happen before the end of this month.
While the bill was popular in committee, its anticipated deficit spending would likely disqualify it from even being considered on the floor because of budgetary agreements reached between the House and Senate. The main source of this deficit spending in the current bill is one of its sections that would dramatically create a new program at the Environmental Protection Agency that subsidizes loans for large water infrastructure projects (SRF WIN). WEF, AWWA, and AMWA have all expressed strong concerns about SRF WIN due to the impacts it will have on the current SRF program, WIFIA program and creating unequal loan rates between states, as well as other concerns.
House’s version of the water resource bill, H.R. 8, is a “clean” bill with only Corps provisions. It already cleared House in early July on a 408-2 vote.
