[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 77 (Wednesday, May 21, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E793-E794]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           WATER RESOURCES REFORM AND DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 2014

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. TIMOTHY H. BISHOP

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 20, 2014

  Mr. BISHOP of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support 
of the conference report for H.R. 3080, the Water Resources Reform and 
Development Act of 2014.
  Today is a monumental occasion for our nation's economy, for the 
creation of good-paying jobs, and for the health of our natural 
environment.
  Thanks to the leadership of Chairman Shuster and Ranking Member 
Rahall, we present this Chamber with a thoughtful, reasonable, and 
optimistic bill that renews this Congress' commitment to our Nation's 
water-related infrastructure.
  In that light, I would like to personally thank our Chairman, our 
Ranking Member, and the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Water 
Resources, Mr. Gibbs, for the open and inclusive process with which our 
Committee conducted negotiations with the other body on WRRDA,

[[Page E794]]

and for their leadership in returning our Committee to its long-
standing traditions of bipartisanship and collaboration--as exemplified 
in the Chairmanships of the gentleman from Pennsylvania's father, the 
former Chairman Shuster, as well as the late-Chairman of this 
Committee, Chairman Oberstar.
  These former Committee leaders knew that a successful outcome can 
only come from the valuable input from Members on both sides of the 
aisle, from constructive negotiation, and from mutual respect. That is 
what we have seen return to this Committee under our current Chairman, 
and if the final vote tally for this Conference report is as I expect, 
then this bill ought to serve as a model for how this Congress conducts 
the American people's business.
  Today is also a monumental day, because while this bill is about many 
things, most importantly, it is about job creation--not only those good 
construction jobs that will come with the authorization of 34 Chiefs 
Reports contained in the bill, but also the jobs that rely on a robust 
network of large and small ports and inland waterways to move goods 
throughout the United States.
  I am especially pleased that this Conference report provides a 
reasonable path forward to the challenges facing the Harbor Maintenance 
Trust Fund.
  This legislation provides that, within 10 years, 100 percent of the 
fund proceeds are used for their intended purposes--harbor 
maintenance--while ensuring that any increase in harbor maintenance 
does not come at the expense of other critical Corps' programs. I am 
also thankful that this conference report recognizes the critical 
importance of our Nation's small ports to our regional and local 
economies in establishing future funding priorities.
  Unfortunately, we could not solve all of the financial challenges 
facing the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund, or the Inland Waterways Trust 
Fund. That will have to come from continued Congressional attention and 
future legislative efforts. However, today is a good first step in 
addressing the most pressing challenges facing each of these funds, and 
should be supported.
  Mr. Speaker, today is also a monumental day because this new WRRDA 
creates a reasonable and workable process, developed by this chamber, 
to address the ongoing navigation, flood damage reduction, and 
environmental restoration challenges facing each of our Congressional 
districts. For the past few years, this Congress has, unfortunately, 
ceded our constitutional and representative duties to the Executive 
branch in deciding what is in the best interests of our Congressional 
districts. This Conference report rightly restores our Congressional 
discretion in establishing these priorities, as well as the balance 
between the Congress and the Executive branch in meeting the local 
challenges of our districts.
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, today is a monumental day because, at long 
last, this WRRDA restores the Federal commitment to our other remaining 
water infrastructure challenges--our failing sewage and drinking water 
infrastructure.
  First, this Conference Report includes legislation that has eluded 
this Congress for almost three decades--the reauthorization of the 
Clean Water State Revolving Fund. For decades, this critical, and 
widely-popular program has been the leading source of Federal funding 
to States and communities to address their ongoing water quality 
challenges. Today, we recommit to this program, and provide additional 
tools to our States and to our communities to address local water 
quality challenges in a flexible, cost-effective, and environmentally 
sustainable manner. I am pleased that much of this language is modeled 
after legislation (H.R. 1877) that I have introduced over the last few 
Congresses, and thank the Chairman and Ranking Member for their 
willingness to include this language in the Conference Report.
  Finally, this Conference report adopts a modified version of the 
Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (or WIFIA) that was 
approved by the other body. Many of the modifications made to this 
authority were to address a concern that I had raised about the 
potential impact of this new authority on the existing Clean Water SRF 
program. I am confident that these modifications send a clear message 
of Congressional support for both the existing SRF program, as well as 
for testing this new WIFIA pilot program, and commit that our Committee 
will need to revisit this issue in the near future.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased at the progress we have made together on 
improving water infrastructure in the United States. Again, I thank the 
leadership of our Chairman and our Ranking Member for getting us to 
this point today.
  I urge my colleagues to support the Conference Report to H.R. 3080.

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