[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 37 (Thursday, March 14, 2013)]
[House]
[Page H1416]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




INTRODUCTION OF THE WATER INFRASTRUCTURE NOW PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP 
                                  ACT

  (Mrs. BUSTOS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mrs. BUSTOS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to talk about a bill I introduced 
earlier today. It's called the Water Infrastructure Now Public-Private 
Partnership Act. Senator Durbin and Senator Kirk from Illinois 
introduced the Senate version as well today.
  My bill would improve the Nation's water infrastructure, including 
the aging locks and dams along the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers, 
through public-private partnerships that would expedite projects and 
save taxpayer money.
  My bill would help clear a $60 billion backlog of U.S. Army Corps 
projects that will take decades to complete without the help of private 
investment. It does this by creating a pilot program to explore 
agreements between the Army Corps of Engineers and private entities as 
alternatives to traditional financing, planning, design, and 
construction methods.
  Mr. Speaker, the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers are absolutely 
critical to the economic well-being of not just my region, but also to 
the entire Midwest, the Nation, and even to the world. Many of these 
locks and dams were built during the administration of Franklin 
Roosevelt and are now more than 80 years old. That is why action must 
be taken to expand and modernize the locks and dams that help transport 
our goods and products worldwide.

                          ____________________