Cramer Statement on Senate WRRDA Passage

Press Release

Today Congressman Kevin Cramer issued the following statement after the U.S. Senate joined the House in approving the Water Resources Reform Development Act (WRRDA):

"I am pleased the Senate took action on this important legislation in a timely manner. Senator John Hoeven should be commended for his work to rally his colleagues against the unprecedented fee for usage of reservoir water from the Missouri River. The bill is an example of how both chambers of Congress can work effectively toward compromise, and I expect the President will sign it very soon," said Cramer.

Originally known as WRDA, the House added a second "R' for "Reform' to recognize the significant improvements in this water infrastructure bill. Beyond being the first without earmarks, WRRDA sets hard deadlines on the time and cost of studies, consolidates duplicative government studies, and streamlines environmental reviews. To deal with a backlog of existing Army Corps of Engineers water infrastructure projects, the bill deauthorizes $18 billion of inactive projects dated before 2007 and deauthorizes projects after seven years if construction hasn't been initiated.

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