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Senate approves $12.3 billion water bill

By Henry Jackson
Published May 22, 2014 8:34pm ET
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Senate approves $12.3 billion water bill
FILE - In this May 31, 2013, file photo, sandbags are piled around the Parlor City Pub and Eatery in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where workers placed a cardboard cutout of a man drinking beer. Congress is on the cusp of passing its first infrastructure bill of the year. The Senate is expected to vote Thursday, May 22, 2014, on a $12.3 billion water resources bill that authorizes 34 water projects, from managing flood risks in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and environmental restoration in Louisiana to dredging Boston Harbor. (AP Photo/Ryan J. Foley, File) | Ryan Foley

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress sent the White House a $12.3 billion water projects bill half the size of its last one seven years ago — before the economy sank into a deep recession that helped swell the government’s debt and before lawmakers swore off cherry-picking pet projects for folks back home.

With a 91-7 vote Thursday, the Senate passed the bill authorizing 34 new projects over the next 10 years. The House passed it Tuesday after key lawmakers spent six months blending separate House and Senate versions approved last year.

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