Press Releases

WASHINGTON – Tonight, Congressman French Hill (AR-02) issued the following statement after supporting the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), which passed by 408-2, to strengthen Arkansas and the nation’s infrastructure and enhance economic development across the country:

“With more than $4 billion in commerce traveling up and down the Arkansas River each year, waterways are a key part of Arkansas’s economy. The House’s passing of this water resources bill means Arkansas’s infrastructure will be able to support an increased volume of goods coming through our ports and bring more jobs to our state. I am particularly interested in the results of the National Academy of Sciences study on the structure of the Army Corps of Engineers and their recommendations.”

Background:

The Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), H.R. 8, authorizes $2.5 billion, which is fully offset, for critical projects and activities related to the key missions of the Army Corps of Engineers – navigation, flood risk management, hurricane and storm damage reduction, and ecosystem restoration.

This bill builds on the bipartisan reforms of the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2016 and continues to restore the two-year WRDA cycle that is critical to maintaining our water resources infrastructure. This continuation of regular order in WRDA saves money by streamlining the needed water resources infrastructure improvements and project modifications, which in turn prevents the unnecessary increase in project costs that occur when authorized projects are stalled or delayed.

Additionally the bill:

• Authorizes the Federal Emergency Management Agency to assist states and local governments in mitigating flood risks from aging dams and levees.

• Authorizes studies for future water resources improvements included in the Corps’ 2017 and 2018 annual reports to Congress.

• Provides for the full use of funds from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund for harbor maintenance purposes.

• Reauthorizes the Levee Safety Initiative, and the National Dam Safety Program through 2023 to help protect American communities from flooding.

• Directs the National Academy of Sciences to evaluate the current organizational structure of the Corps’ civil works functions, identify impediments to efficient project delivery, and provide recommendations to Congress.

• Requires added transparency with Army Corps reports on maintenance backlog obligations.

• Fully offsets the $2.5 billion in new authorizations with $3 billion in deauthorizations and sunsets or eliminates inactive or unnecessary projects.

WRDA 2016 passed the House by a vote of 399-25.