Finish the Arkansas Valley Conduit Act

Floor Speech

H.R. 131 seeks to address a longstanding water challenge in southeastern Colorado. The Arkansas Valley Conduit is a 130-mile pipeline first authorized in 1962 to deliver water from the Pueblo Reservoir to communities facing ongoing water supply and quality issues. Despite decades of work, the project remains unfinished, primarily due to financial constraints.

This bill would revise certain repayment terms to provide additional flexibility for local stakeholders to help finance the project and begin delivering clean, reliable water to rural communities.

My Democratic colleagues and I are committed to addressing the barrier that rural communities face in securing clean water. That is why we passed historic water infrastructure investments under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act.

Since 2022, the IIJA has provided $500 million for the Arkansas Valley Conduit. These investments are critical for ensuring communities across the West have reliable access to clean drinking water, especially as climate change is continuing to make drought conditions worse.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, Representative Boebert, for bringing this forward. I urge support for H.R. 131, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Ms. HOYLE of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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