Water Resources Development Act of 2024

Floor Speech

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Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, Chairman Graves for yielding to me.

Like many of our colleagues, I recognize the critical importance of the biennial Water Resources Development Act. I also appreciate the need to move the House version as quickly as possible.

However, I must raise serious concerns with the bill presented on suspension today. These concerns are shared by my colleagues on the Appropriations Committee on a bipartisan basis.

Certain sections of the bill would cede Congress' Article I authority to fund and oversee Federal agencies. This should not only concern the Appropriations Committee, but all Members of Congress. Allowing agencies to become self-funded is a terrible idea. This is true whatever form it takes, whether allowing agencies to spend incoming fees without congressional approval, accept funding from other sources including non-Federal sources, or transfer funds across agencies without congressional oversight. Such actions make the Federal bureaucracy far less accountable and embolden unelected officials to overstep their congressional mandates. The requirement that agencies receive appropriations from Congress each year is one of the most important checks on their authority and is critical to preserving the separation of powers under the Constitution.

Creating self-funded agencies also removes them from the top-line spending caps on appropriations, thereby increasing total spending and taking another piece of total spending outside of fiscal controls. Finally, it is the Appropriations Committee's exclusive jurisdiction to determine how much funding each Federal agency must work with, by carefully balancing the needs of the entire Federal Government. Putting certain agencies or activities outside of appropriations makes comprehensive budgeting more difficult, as agencies evade congressional controls.

Without much time to review this text, we were not able to have a meaningful dialogue and fix these serious issues before today's vote. Giving this much power to agencies is not an action we should take lightly.

The gentleman has provided his commitment to work through these issues before a final product is presented to the House. Because of that, I will not oppose the measure today. As we move forward, I expect that we as a conference will have an opportunity to thoroughly discuss this issue.

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