Finish the Arkansas Valley Conduit Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 131) to make certain modifications to the repayment for the Arkansas Valley Conduit in the State of Colorado, as amended.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 131

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Finish the Arkansas Valley Conduit Act''. SEC. 2. ARKANSAS VALLEY CONDUIT, COLORADO.

Public Law 87-590 (76 Stat. 389; 123 Stat. 1320) is amended--

(1) in the first section--

(A) in subsection (c), in the second sentence, by striking ``or in the case of the Arkansas Valley Conduit, payment in an amount equal to 35 percent of the cost of the conduit that is comprised of revenue generated by payments pursuant to a repayment contract and revenue that may be derived from contracts for the use of Fryingpan-Arkansas project excess capacity or exchange contracts using Fryingpan-Arkansas project facilities,''; and

(B) by adding at the end the following:

``(d) Arkansas Valley Conduit.--

``(1) Repayment contract.--To provide domestic water supplies to communities and households that do not have reliable access to domestic water supplies, the contract for the Arkansas Valley Conduit shall provide for payment in an amount equal to 35 percent of the cost of the conduit, notwithstanding the reclamation laws or any other provision of this Act. The contract payments shall consist of--

``(A) funding provided during construction from any entity other than the Secretary; and

``(B) based on a demonstration of financial hardship, as determined by the Secretary, repayment of the balance not covered under subparagraph (A) for a period of not more than 75 years with simple interest at a rate that is equal to 50 percent of the interest rate determined by the Secretary of the Treasury under section 2(c), including revenue derived from contracts for the use of excess capacity or exchange contracts using Fryingpan-Arkansas project facilities.

``(2) Operations and maintenance.--The contract for the Arkansas Valley Conduit shall provide for the assumption by the contracting parties of the care, operation, maintenance, and replacement of the conduit.''; and

(2) in section 2(b)(3)(A), by striking ``this section'' and inserting ``subsection (d) of the first section''.

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Mr. GOSAR. 131, the bill under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 131, the Finish the Arkansas Valley Conduit Act, sponsored by Representative Boebert of Colorado.

The Arkansas Valley Conduit, or AVC is a 130-mile pipeline that serves 39 communities and 50,000 people east of Pueblo, Colorado. Once completed, it will deliver water to an area of the State that faces severe water quality issues.

The AVC was authorized by Congress as part of the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project in 1962. Over 60 years later, construction on this project has barely started, largely due to cost increases that have outpaced the community's ability to pay.

In 2009, Congress amended the original legislation to help address the project's increasing price tag. Unfortunately, rising construction costs over the past few years have continued to delay this critical water project.

The legislation before us today would further modify the repayment contract to ensure that these communities have reliable access to domestic water supplies. These communities have been waiting for over six decades for a reliable water source. H.R. 131 will ensure this project can finally be completed.

Mr. Speaker, I support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. GOSAR. Boebert), the lead sponsor of this bill.

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Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Speaker, this bill provides increased financial flexibility for the construction of the long-overdue water infrastructure improvements in rural Colorado. I thank Ms. Boebert for her diligent work and attention to these issues.

Arizona is no second citizen to this. We want to see this happen and help everybody.

I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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