[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 149 (Wednesday, October 23, 2013)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D1004-D1006]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                        House of Representatives


Chamber Action
Public Bills and Resolutions Introduced: 29 public bills, H.R. 3309-
3337 and 3 resolutions, H.J. Res. 98; and H. Res. 389-390 were 
introduced.                                              
  Pages H6767-69
Additional Cosponsors:                                   
  Pages H6770-71
Report Filed: A report was filed today as follows:
  H.R. 2850, to require certain procedures in the conduct by the 
Environmental Protection Agency of its study of the potential impacts 
of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water resources, with an amendment 
(H. Rept. 113-252).                                          
Page H6767
Speaker: Read a letter from the Speaker wherein he appointed 
Representative Stewart to act as Speaker pro tempore for today. 
                                                             Page H6679
Recess: The House recessed at 11:45 a.m. and reconvened at 12 noon. 
                                                             Page H6691
Journal: The House agreed to the Speaker's approval of the Journal by 
voice vote.                                          
  Pages H6691, H6758
Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2013: The House passed 
H.R. 3080, to provide for improvements to the rivers and harbors of the 
United States and to provide for the conservation and development of 
water and related resources, by a yea-and-nay vote of 417 yeas to 3 
nays, Roll No. 560.                                   
  Pages H6696-H6758
  Pursuant to the rule, an amendment in the nature of a substitute 
consisting of the text of Rules Committee Print 113-24 shall be 
considered as an original bill for the purpose of amendment under the 
five-minute rule, in lieu of the amendment in the nature of a 
substitute recommended by the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure now printed in the bill.                      
Page H6721
Agreed to:
  Gibbs manager's amendment (No. 1 printed in H. Rept. 113-251) that 
adds a new section that provides for expediting the completion of any 
on-going feasibility study for a project initiated prior to enactment 
and clarifies that the Corps of Engineers is authorized to move to 
preconstruction planning, engineering, and design activities 
immediately after completing a feasibility study. Amends Section 107 of 
H.R. 3080 to add a savings clause to ensure work carried out under an 
existing statute related to navigation that is repealed in H.R. 3080 
can continue if initiated prior to enactment. Adds a new section 
providing non-Federal interests the ability to carry out work at their 
own expense for a project where a final feasibility report has been 
completed but has not received authorization from Congress. Requires 
the non-Federal interest to carry out work subject to any State or 
Federal permitting requirements and to carry out the project in 
accordance with the final feasibility report. Amends Section 120 of 
H.R. 3080 to request the Corps of Engineers to review the uses and 
economic feasibility of non-structural alternatives in their review of 
existing authorities for carrying out work after a storm event. Amends 
Section 102 of H.R. 3080 to add natural gas companies to the entities 
eligible to contribute funds to Corps of Engineers to expedite the 
processing of permits within the regulatory program of the Corps of 
Engineers. Makes other technical and conforming changes to H.R. 3080; 
                                                         Pages H6738-40
  Shuster en bloc amendment that consists of the following amendments 
printed in H. Rept.

[[Page D1005]]

113-251: Mullin amendment (No. 4), as modified, that specifies that due 
to ongoing drought in many parts of the United States, state agencies 
are finding it difficult to maintain Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission-licensed lake levels. Not later than 180 days after 
enactment, FERC is to initiate an assessment of the effects of drought 
conditions on these lakes and report to Congress--specifically looking 
at existing FERC-licensed lakes with rule curves in areas of drought 
and the effect long-term licenses have on state agencies being able to 
meet all their obligations; Jackson Lee amendment (No. 9) that provides 
that in making recommendations pursuant to Section 118 of the Act, the 
Secretary shall consult with key stakeholders, including State, county, 
and city governments, and, where applicable, State and local water 
districts, and in the case of recommendations concerning projects that 
substantially affect under represented communities the Secretary shall 
also consult with historically Black colleges and universities, Tribal 
Colleges and Universities, and other minority-serving institutions; 
Grimm amendment (No. 10) that modifies Section 118 to require the 
Secretary of the Army to include project recommendations made in the 
study for flood and storm damage reduction related to natural disasters 
under title II of division A of the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 
2013 within the Secretary's Report to Congress on Future Water 
Resources Development; Peters (CA) amendment (No. 11) that adds a 
subsection specifying that the Secretary of the Army coordinates with 
the Administrator of the FEMA to disseminate the emergency 
communication of risk to the public through widely used and readily 
available means; Stutzman amendment (No. 12) that provides that the 
Secretary of the Army shall not require the removal of levee vegetation 
until the Corps of Engineers' policy guidelines on vegetation 
management for levees have been reviewed and adopted. Provides an 
exception for vegetation that presents an unacceptable safety risk; 
Pierluisi amendment (No. 14) that adds Puerto Rico to the provision of 
law that would be updated for inflation by Section 137 and that 
authorizes the Secretary of the Army to waive local cost-sharing 
requirements up to a specified dollar amount for studies and projects 
in certain U.S. territories; Cotton amendment (No. 15) that allows non-
Federal entities (regional authorities or municipalities) and the Army 
Corps of Engineers to collaborate on a proposal to sell any excess 
water supply in order to address an oversupply of water resulting from 
the 1958 Water Supply Act. This would not authorize the Corps to 
actually sell the water or release the water from storage; Hastings 
(WA) amendment (No. 17) that ensures that Congress continue the 
practice of authorizing project purposes at Corps of Engineers dams or 
reservoirs; McCollum amendment (No. 18) that establishes a multiagency 
effort to slow the spread of Asian carp in the Upper Mississippi and 
Ohio River basins and tributaries by providing technical assistance, 
coordination, best practices, and support to State and local 
governments in carrying out such activities; Thompson (CA) amendment 
(No. 19) that requires the Government Accountability Office to conduct 
an assessment on the impacts of aquatic invasive species on Federal 
assets and current Federal spending on aquatic invasive species 
prevention; Brownley amendment (No. 20) that requires the Army Corps to 
consider activities of the Secretary of the Navy when assessing the 
operation and maintenance needs of harbors and the equitable 
distribution of funds; Lowenthal amendment (No. 21) that requires the 
Secretary to include ``expanded uses'' of the Harbor Maintenance Trust 
Fund in the assessments and prioritization of operations and 
maintenance reports to Congress; Brownley amendment (No. 22) that 
requires GAO to study and report to Congress on the effectiveness of 
activities funded by the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund in maximizing 
economic growth and job creation in the communities surrounding low- 
and moderate-use ports; and include recommendations relating to the use 
of amounts in the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund to increase the 
competitiveness of United States ports relative to Canadian and Mexican 
ports; and Schneider amendment (No. 23) that expands congressional 
reporting requirements to include recommendations for mitigating 
current problems and limiting the construction backlog; 
                                                         Pages H6743-46
  Flores amendment (No. 3 printed in H. Rept. 113-251) that prohibits 
programs or actions authorized under this Act from further 
implementation of coastal and marine spatial planning and ecosystem-
based management components under Executive Order 13547. Requires the 
Secretary of the Army to conduct and submit a study detailing all 
activities engaged in and resources expended in furtherance of 
Executive Order 13547. The study also should include any budget 
requests for fiscal year 2014 for support of implementation of 
Executive Order 13547, and be submitted to the House Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure and Senate Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation (by a recorded vote of 225 ayes to 193 
noes, Roll No. 557); and                       
Pages H6741-43, H6755-56
  Richmond amendment (No. 16 printed in H. Rept. 113-251) that directs 
the Corps to calculate the national benefits of proposed flood 
protection projects, including benefits from a reduction in national 
and regional economic losses, as well as the

[[Page D1006]]

protection of evacuation routes (by a recorded vote of 237 ayes to 183 
noes, Roll No. 559).                              
Pages H6752-54, H6757
Rejected:
  Young (AK) amendment (No. 5 printed in H. Rept. 113-251) that sought 
to require USACE to contract with private sector surveying and mapping 
firms, wherever practical, in performance of surveying and mapping 
services and activities for Corps projects. Would require the Secretary 
to issue agency guidance to encourage use of the private sector for 
surveying and mapping services, and require a process to provide 
oversight of the performance of compliance with the guidance; 
                                                         Pages H6746-48
  Bentivolio amendment (No. 7 printed in H. Rept. 113-251) that sought 
to increase the amount of backlogged projects to be de-authorized, 
beyond what is initially de-authorized in the bill from $12,000,000,000 
to $35,000,000,000;                                      
Pages H6749-50
  Velazquez amendment (No. 13 printed in H. Rept. 113-251) that sought 
to establish a national water-based freight policy to improve the 
movement of freight and cargo over waterways, canals, ports, and 
harbors;                                                 
Pages H6751-52
  DeFazio amendment (No. 2 printed in H. Rept. 113-251) that sought to 
delay the application of environmental ``streamlining'' provisions in 
the bill until the Secretary certifies that there is sufficient funding 
to reduce the current backlog of authorized Corps projects to less than 
$20 billion; more than $40 billion in projects have already been 
authorized using existing environmental review processes, but have yet 
to receive funding for construction (by a recorded vote of 183 ayes to 
236 noes, Roll No. 556); and                      
Pages H6740-41, H6755
  Hastings (FL) amendment (No. 6 printed in H. Rept. 113-251) that 
sought to include operation and maintenance costs associated with sand 
transfer plants in the annual operations and maintenance budget of the 
Corps of Engineers (by a recorded vote of 133 ayes to 287 noes, Roll 
No. 558).                                      
Pages H6748-49, H6756-57
Withdrawn:
  Jones amendment (No. 8 printed in H. Rept. 113-251) that was offered 
and subsequently withdrawn that would have exempted the disaster 
restriction on projects which non-Federal interests may contribute to 
and                                                      
Pages H6750-51
  Gardner amendment (No. 24 printed in H. Rept. 113-251) that was 
offered and subsequently withdrawn that would have established the 
Office of Water Storage at the Army Corp of Engineers to serve as an 
initial point of contact for the acquisition or satisfaction of a 
Federal permit for a water storage facility.             
Pages H6754-55
  H. Res. 385, the rule providing for consideration of the bill, was 
agreed to by a recorded vote of 271 ayes to 147 noes, Roll No. 555, 
after the previous question was ordered by a yea-and-nay vote of 225 
yeas to 194 nays, Roll No. 554.                       
Pages H6696-H6706
Moment of Silence: The House observed a moment of silence in honor of 
the 241 Americans who were lost in the bombing in Beirut on October 23, 
1983.                                                        
  Page H6755
Meeting Hour: Agreed that the order of the House of January 3, 2013 
regarding morning hour debate not apply tomorrow, and when the House 
adjourns tomorrow, October 24th, it adjourn to meet on Monday, October 
28th, when it shall convene at 12 noon for morning hour debate and 2 
p.m. for legislative business. Further agreed that when the House 
adjourns today, it adjourn to meet at 12 noon tomorrow, October 24th. 
                                                             Page H6760
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe--Appointment: The 
Chair announced the Speaker's appointment of the following Members on 
the part of the House to the Commission on Security and Cooperation in 
Europe: Representatives Slaughter, McIntyre, and Cohen.      
  Page H6762
Quorum Calls--Votes: Two yea-and-nay votes and five recorded votes 
developed during the proceedings of today and appear on pages H6705-06, 
H6706, H6755, H6756, H6756-57, H6757, H6758. There were no quorum 
calls.
Adjournment: The House met at 10 a.m. and adjourned at 7:42 p.m.