Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014
Floor Speech
Mr. COLLINS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I strongly commend Chairman SHUSTER and Ranking Member RAHALL for bringing conference report for the Water Resources and Reform Development Act to the floor. It represents a great bipartisan effort on one of Congress' true article one responsibilities, providing for America's infrastructure. In northeast Georgia, the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project (SHEP) means jobs. Georgia's 9th Congressional District shipped more than 10,780 tons of goods through Georgia ports in 2013 alone. As a member of the Georgia House of Representatives, I fought for Georgia's investment in SHEP to get the project moving, and now as a member of the United States House of Representatives, I'm proud to vote in favor of the federal government living up to its promise of matching funds. Deepening this harbor from 42 to 47 feet will allow new supertankers to use the port to transport Georgia products all over the world.
There are a number of good reforms in this bill that will increase efficiency and reduce the cost of upcoming projects. A provision of the bill will limit the length and cost of Army Corps of Engineers feasibility studies, so that projects can be completed on schedule and on budget. This bill deauthorizes over $18 billion of old, inactive projects, more than offsetting the authorizations in this bill. WRRDA also sunsets the authorization of any project authorized by the bill after 7 years if construction has not begun.
Any piece of legislation aimed at reform has room for improvement. Language included in the underlying bill regarding the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River (ACF) and the Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa River (ACT) Systems was far from perfect. No language in this bill implies any Congressional intent to interfere with states' work on this important issue. This dispute has been ongoing for a number of years, and Congress interjecting will not bring about a more favorable outcome to any of the parties involved. Water supply disputes are best handled at the state level, and I trust that the governors of the affected states will come together and resolve the issue without Congressional intervention.
Overall, I am very supportive of this bill and urge its adoption.
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