Carper, Capito, DeFazio, and Graves Announce Negotiated Water Resources Development Act of 2022

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW), Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Ranking Member of the EPW Committee, Representative Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I), and Representative Sam Graves (R-Mo.), Ranking Member of the T&I Committee, today announced a final agreement on the Water Resources Development Act of 2022 (WRDA 2022). 

The Water Resources Development Act is biennial legislation that authorizes flood control, navigation, and ecosystem restoration projects for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The final version comes after months of negotiations to reconcile Senate- and House-passed versions of the legislation.

“The Water Resources Development Act of 2022 represents what’s possible when we work together to craft legislation that meaningfully invests in our nation’s water resources,” Chairman Carper said. “This WRDA bill came together in a truly collaborative and bipartisan manner.  In addition to authorizing projects in all 50 states and territories, the legislation better positions the Army Corps of Engineers to make our communities more resilient and ensure that more Americans can benefit from the Corps’ work. I look forward to taking up this bipartisan legislation soon so that we can send it to President Biden’s desk before the end of the year.”

“The Water Resources Development Act of 2022 is the product of bipartisan work to tackle our nation’s water resources challenges,”Ranking Member Capito said. “This legislation further enables the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to address local and regional concerns while continuing to advance national priorities. For West Virginia, it means projects across our state will receive the resources and support needed to make progress on critical issues, such as addressing flood risk. WRDA 2022 is another example of commonsense, bipartisan collaboration on the EPW Committee and with our counterparts in the House to improve the nation’s infrastructure, and I look forward to voting to send it to the president’s desk.”

“Today, Congress continues to deliver on its commitment to strengthening America’s infrastructure and economy by investing in our ports, harbors, and inland waterways,” Chairman DeFazio said. “The Water Resources Development Act of 2022 will help ease supply chain issues and make communities across the country more resilient in the face of extreme weather. Just as critical, WRDA 2022 will help local communities struggling to afford critical water resources projects, while bringing state, local, and Tribal leaders to the table to execute projects equitably. I thank my Senate and House colleagues for their work championing this legislation and I look forward to sending a fifth consecutive biennial and bipartisan WRDA bill to the president’s desk.”

“Our ports, inland waterways, and flood protection infrastructure strengthen the economy and protect our communities,” Ranking Member Graves said. “Flood protection in particular is critical to my district in Missouri and many other regions, and when rivers like the Missouri and the Mississippi aren’t properly managed, it damages navigation channels for commerce and threatens people and property along the rivers. It’s critical to make sure the Corps of Engineers doesn’t lose focus of its navigation and flood control responsibilities, and this bipartisan bill does just that.”

The Senate-passed WRDA legislation will be the legislative vehicle for the passage of this year’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The full text of the NDAA is available here. The final WRDA provisions negotiated between the House of Representatives and the Senate appear in Division H, Title LXXXI (starting on page 3,160).

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