DALLAS — The Senate voted 91-7 to pass a $12.3 billion water infrastructure funding bill on Thursday afternoon, sending the measure to President Obama to sign into law.
The House passed the same bill on Tuesday by an equally lopsided margin of 412-4.
The Water Resources Reform and Development Act will fund 34 specific port, inland waterway, and flood control projects expected to cost a total of $5.9 billion of federal spending through 2019 and another $6.9 billion through 2024. Spending on some projects is expected to extend for several years beyond 2024.
The bill, H.R. 3080, was developed by a conference committee headed by Sen. Barbara Boxer, chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, after the House and Senate each passed different versions of the legislation in 2013.
Boxer said she was encouraged by the overwhelming bipartisan support of the conference committee's bill.
"Our bill invests in vital water infrastructure that protects communities from flooding, maintains navigation routes for commerce and the movement of goods, restores vital ecosystems and provides a boost to our economy by creating jobs," she said.
The bill establishes a five-year, $350 million low-cost credit program for water projects modeled on the popular Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act for road and transit projects.
The new Water Infrastructure and Innovation Act credit enhancement programs, which will be operated by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers, can fund up to 51% of a project's cost, but not in conjunction with tax-exempt bonds.
The Corps of Engineers is directed to develop a pilot program of up to 15 public-private partnerships for projects including inland navigation, flood damage reduction, and coastal harbor and channel improvements.
The legislation stipulates that the private partner may have full management control for financing, design, and construction aspects of the project.
Support for the water bill by Democrats and Republicans is a huge accomplishment for Congress and a good sign for quick passage of a bipartisan surface transportation funding bill, said Bud Wright, executive director of the American Association of Highway and Transportation Officials.
'Hopefully, we will see more work now on a new surface transportation bill," Wright said. "We look forward to working with Congress on a bipartisan vision for infrastructure investment to shore up the nearly insolvent Highway Trust Fund in the short term and to identify a long-term sustainable source for funding our nation's transportation future."
