Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2013

Floor Speech

Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Chair, I want to thank Committee Chairman SHUSTER and Ranking Member RAHALL, as well as Subcommittee Chairman GIBBS and Ranking Member BISHOP for their hard work in putting together a bill that all of us can support. There are many good things in the bill and a few things that still need some work.

The Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA) is a vitally important bill to my constituents in the 3rd District of California. The levee projects that are authorized will provide life-saving protection for residents throughout California's flood prone Central Valley, while other construction projects will help to rebuild our crumbling water infrastructure and create jobs. The improvements to revitalize our ports and waterways will bolster business development and ensure that products grown and manufactured in the United States will continue to be exported around the world.

I commend Committee leadership for finding a way to authorize much needed projects without violating the earmark ban. The Natomas Levee Improvement Project will be authorized when this bill becomes law, resulting in increased flood protection for thousands of residents in the Sacramento area. However, there is more we could do. There are approximately 15 projects that have Chief's Reports in the pipeline. They aren't yet completed, but should be in the next several months. I urge an expansion of the authorization to include those projects that will have completed Chief's Reports by the end of the Fiscal Year so that important projects like the one in the Sutter Basin can begin work without wondering when we might get around to passing another WRDA bill.

Much needed language was included to instruct the Corps to revise its regulations regarding levee vegetation. Each part of the country is different and it is vital that the Corps have the flexibility to make determinations based on the individual community and what is needed to provide the most protection. As the bill moves forward in the process, I urge my colleagues to be open to discussing changes to the crediting provisions. Crediting is critical to ensure timely investments in public infrastructure and encourage local communities to start sooner than later to respond to flood threats. One slight change I would like to see would be to move the milestone earlier as to when a non-federal sponsor of a project could begin receiving credit. This does not obligate additional federal funds, nor does it guarantee a non-federal sponsor will receive credit. It merely lets local communities begin to address risks to the public safety as soon as possible.

The Committee has taken strides to reform the way money in the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF) is spent. Over the next several years, more funding will be funneled back to our ports to ensure those paying into the fund actually receive the dollars back to maintain the infrastructure. Again, more can be done to make sure California gets a fair shake. Most of our ports are donors to the fund, but get little back. The world is only getting smaller and we must do all that we can to ensure American products can get out of our country and into the global market. All of our ports are important to international trade and all should get adequate funding to be the best they can be.

This bill is a milestone in a divided Congress and represents compromise in an era of partisanship. A vote for this bill today is a vote for jobs and for our economy, two things we can all support.

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