A top Republican senator took to the floor Wednesday morning to urge his colleagues to take up a $9 billion spending bill for water projects before the summer break.
Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., said the Water Resource Development Act of 2016 needs to be a top priority for the Senate before it takes off for most of July and all of August. The $9 billion bill authorizes 25 Army Corps of Engineers projects and spends billions on the country’s drinking water infrastructure.
“I’m asking leadership and my fellow Republicans, let’s seize a valuable opportunity and bring the WRDA bill to the floor,” Inhofe said. “Time is really of the essence.”
The bill would authorize 25 projects in 17 states that already have funding approved. Those 25 projects total $4.5 billion in spending, and include projects to improve ports, rebuild levees for flood control, increase hurricane protection in Louisiana, and build ecosystem restoration projects in bodies of water across the country.
In addition, the bill contains $4.8 billion in spending for the country’s drinking water and wastewater infrastructure. Included there is a $220 million package for Flint, Mich., and other cities around the country dealing with lead in their drinking water. It’s the second attempt at getting the deal through the Senate after it was stripped from a comprehensive energy bill passed last week.
The bill also includes $1.4 billion in spending over the next five years to help update water infrastructure in those places. Among the plans are $300 million over the next five years to replace lead pipes, and $100 million over the next five years to test for lead in the water in schools and daycare centers.
There are also some modifications and additional funding for the State Revolving Loan Fund programs, which allows the EPA to back loans to communities around the country to update their infrastructure.
The bill was very popular in committee, passing out of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, which Inhofe chairs, by a 19-1 vote in April.
However, the bill has sat on the Senate floor for two months with no action. It’s one of the last major pieces of legislation Inhofe will work on as chairman of the committee as he is term limited at the end of the current legislative session in December.
He urged any senator who has concerns about the bill or wanted to offer amendments to meet with him or California Sen. Barbara Boxer, the top Democrat on the committee.
“We’re going to be ready to do this very significant bill and it’s going to take a lot of cooperation from a lot of people,” Inhofe said.
