    [Senate Hearing 117-23]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

                                                             S. Hrg. 117-23

                                BUSINESS MEETING

    =======================================================================

                                    MEETING

                                   before the

                                  COMMITTEE ON
                          ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS

                              UNITED STATES SENATE

                        ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

                                 FIRST SESSION

                                   __________

                                 APRIL 14, 2021

                                   __________

      Printed for the use of the Committee on Environment and Public Works

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            Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov

                               ______

                  U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
    44-905 PDF             WASHINGTON : 2021

                   COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS

                        ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

                                 FIRST SESSION

                      THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware, Chairman
    BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland         SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West
    BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont                 Virginia,
    SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, Rhode Island         Ranking Member
    JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon                 JAMES M. INHOFE, Oklahoma
    EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts      KEVIN CRAMER, North Dakota
    TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois            CYNTHIA M. LUMMIS, Wyoming
    DEBBIE STABENOW, Michigan            RICHARD SHELBY, Alabama
    MARK KELLY, Arizona                  JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas
    ALEX PADILLA, California             ROGER WICKER, Mississippi
                                         DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska
                                         JONI ERNST, Iowa
                                         LINDSEY O. GRAHAM, South Carolina

                 Mary Frances Repko, Democratic Staff Director
                   Adam Tomlinson, Republican Staff Director

                                C O N T E N T S

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                                                                       Page

                                 APRIL 14, 2021
                               OPENING STATEMENT

    Carper, Hon. Thomas R., U.S. Senator from the State of Delaware..     1

                                  LEGISLATION

    S. 914, To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Federal
      Water Pollution Control Act to reauthorize programs under those
      Acts, and for other purposes...................................     3

                                BUSINESS MEETING

                                  ----------

                           WEDNESDAY, APRIL 14, 2021

                                           U.S. Senate,
                     Committee on Environment and Public Works,
                                                        Washington, DC.
        The Committee, met, pursuant to notice, at 10:04 a.m. in
    room 406, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Thomas R. Carper
    (Chairman of the Committee) presiding.
        Present: Senators Carper, Capito, Cardin, Whitehouse,
    Markey, Kelly, Padilla, Inhofe, Cramer, Lummis, Boozman, and
    Ernst.

              OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. THOMAS R. CARPER,
                U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF DELAWARE

        Senator Carper. Good morning, everybody. I want to welcome
    one and all for joining us this morning.
        As soon as we have 11 members present, we're going to have
    a short business meeting. As some of you know, Senator Capito
    knows as well, the Government Printing Office made a mistake
    after we passed out and reported out our water infrastructure
    legislation 2 weeks ago. As a result, we need to simply do
    again what we did 2 weeks ago, and that is to report out those
    bills.
        I hope we will do that in short order once we have 11, and
    then we will get back to our business as before us today.
        I am going to start, until we have 11, I am going to start
    with a statement and invite Senator Capito to do that as well.
    If we have 11 people appear magically, we will break and do the
    vote.
        Today's hearing is special for a variety of reasons. One of
    the reasons is because it has the longest title I've ever seen
    in 20 years in the U.S. Senate. The title is Long-Term Solvency
    of the Highway Trust Fund: Lessons Learned from the Surface
    Transportation System Funding Alternatives Program and Other
    User-Based Revenue Solutions, and How Funding Uncertainty
    Affects the Highway Programs. That is it. That is probably the
    longest acronym.
        There is probably a great acronym in there somewhere,
    probably several of them, Senator Capito, but I am not going to
    take our time to figure out what it is.
        I want to thank Senator Capito. I want to thank our staff
    and all of you for helping us put together today's hearing, and
    I especially want to welcome our witnesses. Some of them are
    here in person, and some of them are joining us virtually.
        Senator Capito and I have been informed that our water
    legislation, and I want to thank again Senators Capito, Lummis,
    Cardin, Wicker, others who helped work to make that legislation
    possible to first report out unanimously 2 weeks ago. My thanks
    to all of you who supported it. We are informed by our
    leadership that that legislation very likely will be on the
    floor.
        Pardon? Do we have 11? That is great. All right.
        In that case, we will just hold off for a moment on my
    statement, and my Ranking Member tells me we now have the
    number that we need physically present to be able to vote.
        Therefore the Senate now considers S. 914, the Drinking
    Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act of 2021. First, we will
    adopt the bipartisan Carper-Capito Amendment No. 1, just as we
    did last month.
        I move to adopt the Carper-Capito Substitute Amendment.
    Senator Capito and I have agreed to do this by voice vote.
        Is there a second?
        Senator Capito. Second.
        Senator Carper. All in favor, say aye.
        [Chorus of ayes.]
        Senator Carper. All opposed, say nay.
        [No audible response.]
        Senator Carper. The ayes have it.
        I now move that the Committee report S. 914, the Drinking
    Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act of 2021 as amended.
        Is there a second?
        Senator Capito. Second.
        Senator Carper. Moved and seconded.
        All in favor, say aye.
        [Chorus of ayes.]
        Senator Carper. All opposed, say nay.
        [No audible response.]
        Senator Carper. The ayes have it.
        I now ask unanimous consent that the business meeting
    record reflect that S. 914 as amended was reported by the same
    20 to 0 vote as when the Committee acted on March 24th, 2021. I
    further ask that our staff be allowed to make any necessary
    technical and conforming changes to this measure.
        Is there objection? Hearing none, so ordered.
        Now, we will return to our hearing.
        Mary Frances, thank you for helping me get through that
    landmine.
        [Whereupon, at 10:08 a.m., the Committee proceeded to other
    business.]
        [The referenced legislation follows:]

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