Designating the United States Courthouse Located At 300 South Fourth Street in Minneapolis, Minnesota, As the ``Diana E. Murphy United States Courthouse''
Floor Speech
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Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, first I wish to thank my colleague and friend from Delaware, Senator Carper, for his friendship, leadership, and advocacy on this important piece of legislation. We worked closely together.
I rise in support of S. 2031, America's Water Infrastructure Act of 2018.
Every day, Americans depend on our Nation's water infrastructure systems. Clean water, flood control structures, working irrigation systems are all necessary for health, safety, and prosperity for our communities.
This legislation is going to authorize important water projects. It will maintain the navigability of inland waterways and coastal ports, increase water storage, and fix aging irrigation systems across the country.
It will create jobs. It will spur economic growth and give local leaders an increased say in the projects and the way the projects are prioritized. It will rebuild flood control systems.
This is the most significant drinking water legislation in decades. America's Water Infrastructure Act will cut Washington redtape; it will help grow the economy; and it will keep communities safe.
The legislation is good for all 50 States. It is bipartisan. It is bicameral. The legislation passed the Environment and Public Works Committee by a vote of 21 to 0. It passed the House by unanimous consent on a voice vote.
It has the support of a broad array of stakeholders, from the American Farm Bureau to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, to the National Association of Manufacturers, to the Family Farm Alliance. As a testament to just how broad the support is for this bill, both the American Petroleum Institute and the Sierra Club have endorsed its passage. We don't see that every day.
It is time to pass this important legislation and send it to President Trump for his signature. I encourage all Senators to support cloture on this bill.
Cloture Motion
THE PRESIDING OFFICER. Pursuant to rule XXII, the Chair lays before the Senate the pending cloture motion, which the clerk will state.
The legislative clerk read as follows: Cloture Motion
We, the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the motion to concur in the House amendments to S. 3021, an act to designate the United States courthouse located at 300 South Fourth Street in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as the ``Diana E. Murphy United States Courthouse''. Mitch McConnell, Chuck Grassley, John Boozman, Roy Blunt, Deb Fischer, Todd Young, James Lankford, Susan M. Collins, Richard C. Shelby, Jon Kyl, John Thune, Pat Roberts, Orrin G. Hatch, Marco Rubio, John Barrasso, Roger F. Wicker, John Hoeven
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Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, water infrastructure, a bill that we have just moved to a positive cloture vote, 96 to 3--water infrastructure is important to every State, as we see by this vote-- every territory, every community, and every Tribe in this country. These systems support America's economic growth and our competitiveness. They deliver drinking water and treat wastewater. They provide water for crops, cattle, and small businesses. They are used to ship American-made goods from the heartland to the coasts and around the world. They keep homes safe from dangerous flood waters; they store water for times of drought.
These systems are vital to our country. We must maintain, upgrade, and, where necessary, build them.
During the State of the Union Address this year, President Trump called on Congress to act on infrastructure. He said we will build America's infrastructure ``with American heart, American hands, and American grit.''
Water infrastructure is a major part of the President's call. That is why I introduced America's Water Infrastructure Act, along with my fellow leaders of the Environment and Public Works Committee, Senators Carper, Inhofe, and Cardin. Several other committee members were also cosponsors, including Senators Capito, Wicker, Van Hollen, Boozman, Whitehouse, and Sullivan.
Politico called America's Water Infrastructure Act the most significant infrastructure legislation to be taken up under the Trump administration so far. This legislation passed the Environment and Public Works Committee in the Senate unanimously, 21 to 0.
Last month, the same leaders from our committee and the leadership of the committees in the House of Representatives reached a deal on historic comprehensive water infrastructure legislation. America's Water Infrastructure Act now has broad bicameral and bipartisan support.
Our bill will help grow the economy, will cut Washington redtape, and will keep communities safe.
Authorizing important water projects will create jobs that will spur economic growth. The legislation will help deepen nationally significant ports and maintain the navigability of inland waterways. It is going to increase storage in the West and build new flood management infrastructure.
This bill will fix aging dams and irrigation systems across the country. Upgrading these systems will ensure that ranchers and farmers will get the water that they rely on.
It will also help communities recover from devastating storms like Hurricane Florence and the damage it left along the east coast, especially in North and South Carolina.
America's Water Infrastructure Act also cuts Washington redtape. As chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, I have heard time and again how State and local leaders know better than Washington which projects would have the most positive impact on their community. Our bill will give local experts an increased role in prioritizing which Army Corps projects get built.
When a local partner takes over an Army Corps of Engineer's flood control project, they will no longer need to worry about obtaining brandnew permits. The Army Corps will simply transfer its authority to the local partner so that new permits are no longer necessary.
The government will also provide technical assistance to smaller communities to make it simpler for them to comply with environmental laws.
Leveraging Federal dollars is an important element of President Trump's infrastructure plan. We included language to help smaller rural communities leverage their resources so that they can build water infrastructure projects. Federal leveraging programs, particularly the Water Infrastructure Flexibility Act, allow taxpayers to get the most bang for their buck.
In the past, smaller rural communities have had trouble accessing these dollars. The language in our consensus bill will give these rural communities the chance to compete for these funds and the ability to participate in these successful programs.
Cutting redtape and increasing access to these leveraging programs will help us get projects done faster, better, cheaper, and smarter. That is just common sense.
America's Water Infrastructure Act is also about safety. In recent years, we have seen the damage that floods and droughts can cause. We must maintain and improve our dams, our beach fronts, our levies, and our reservoirs.
Our bill takes steps to address the backlog of maintenance needs of these infrastructure systems. It also creates a permanent program to find solutions for floods caused by ice jams.
In the spring, and certainly in Wyoming, thawing ice and snow create jams in rivers and can cause them to overflow their banks. In my home State of Wyoming, ice jam floods have been devastating for the towns of Greybull and Worland. America's Water Infrastructure Act authorizes important programs to find permanent ways to prevent these types of floods.
This bill is about more than just flood prevention. It is the most significant drinking water legislation in decades. The bill authorizes funds to repair aging drinking water systems.
For the first time since 1996--that is 22 years ago--Congress will be authorizing the Drinking Water State Revolving Funds. These funds give States certainty--certainty that they can meet their drinking water needs. That is a big deal.
There is a line that people say in Wyoming. It was originally attributed to Mark Twain. The line is this: Whiskey is for drinking; water is for fighting over. That is not the case with America's Water Infrastructure Act.
That is not the case with America's Water Infrastructure Act. Democrats and Republicans are working together in a bipartisan way. The House of Representatives and the Senate are working together in a bicameral way. The House of Representatives passed this consensus bill unanimously by voice vote. Now it is the Senate's turn. We all know how important this legislation is for our country, for our States, and for our constituents. The bill is bipartisan and is fiscally responsible. America's Water Infrastructure Act actually reduces the deficit.
I thank Ranking Member Carper and Subcommittee Chairman Inhofe and Subcommittee Ranking Member Cardin and their staffs for their leadership in working through this process. They have been wonderful partners in writing legislation that will have a real impact all across America. This bill is for all of America. It will have a real impact in our rural areas and in our big cities. It will help communities in the heartland and communities on the coasts.
It is now time to pass this legislation. Let's pass the American Water Infrastructure Act and send it to President Trump for his signature.
Thank you, Mr. President.
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Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I would like to sincerely thank my ranking member and partner in this bipartisan bill, Senator Carper. You could not have asked for a better colead moving this legislation forward. I agree with exactly the sentiments expressed by the senior Senator from Delaware that America's Water Infrastructure Act could not have happened without a lot of hard work from a number of dedicated legislators, as well as dedicated staff.
I also thank the chairman and ranking member of our Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee, Chairman Inhofe, Ranking Member Cardin, and their staffs for their important contributions and their strong support.
As Senator Carper mentioned the House, I thank our colleagues there and partners in this effort, Chairman Shuster and Ranking Member DeFazio of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee; Chairman Walden and Ranking Member Pallone of the Energy and Commerce Committee, along with their staff. They did a significant amount of heavy lifting to get this important water infrastructure bill to the finish line.
Finally, I thank the staff of the Environment and Public Works Committee for their tireless work on the legislation. Senator Carper mentioned them from both sides of the aisle.
On my staff, I thank Richard Russell, Brian Clifford, Andrew Harding, Lizzy Olsen, Pauline Thorndike, Craig Thomas, and Mike Danlak, and my chief of staff, Dan Coonsman.
On the minority staff, I thank Mary Frances Repko, John Kane, Andrew Rogers, Christina Baysinger, Skylar Bayer, Ashley Morgan, and Avery Mulligan. It would not have happened without all of their hard work, dedication, and commitment to this piece of legislation.
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