House Transportation Committee leaders on Wednesday unveiled a water infrastructure funding bill that would explore the possibilities of a new tax-exempt bond program and encourage public-private partnerships.
The Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2013 (HR 3080) is sponsored by Transportation Committee chairman Bill Shuster, R-Pa., as well as ranking Democrat Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., water resources subcommittee chairman Bob Gibbs, R-Ohio, and subcommittee ranking minority member Tim Bishop, D-N.Y. The bill primarily authorizes the activities and funding of the Army Corps of Engineers, which maintains U.S. ports and waterways, but also includes studies and pilot programs that could lead to tax-exempt financing.
One section of the legislation would direct the Secretary of the Army to work with the Treasury Secretary to conduct a study on the feasibility of issuing federally tax-exempt bonds backed by the Inland Waterways Trust Fund, a federal pool of money financed through a diesel fuel tax on users of American inland waterways. The fund is supposed to support the maintenance of those waterways and various infrastructure along them, such as locks, but has been short of necessary funds since 2009.
The bill directs the Army and the Treasury to consult with stakeholders during the study and determine the potential impacts of such a program, as well as the potential revenue it could generate. If the bill becomes law, a report on the study would be due to Congress one year later.
Another section of the legislation would instruct the Army to “evaluate the cost effectiveness and project delivery efficiency” of allowing private entities to develop harbor, waterway, and other improvements under a public-private partnership structure.
Under the bill, the Army would identify 15 projects for potential P3 development and report on the potential benefits to Congress, Under such arrangements, the private party would be responsible for the entirety of the work and would then receive payment from the government in the form of project revenue or unobligated Army Corps of Engineers funds. The Army also would be required to identify potential impediments to expanding P3 development on the waterways and concoct solutions to those problems.
Lawmakers praised the bill for being bipartisan and for providing a way to streamline what many characterize as a ponderous process for approving water projects.
“WRRDA 2013 is the most policy and reform focused legislation of its kind in the last two decades,” Shuster said. “The bill contains no earmarks and makes major programmatic reforms to increase transparency, accountability, and congressional oversight of federal water resources development activities.”
“This bill is about jobs,” said Rahall. “It boosts our ports, strengthens our maritime economy, and allows commodities to move more efficiently along our inland waterways, saving time and money.”
The bill does not contain the five-year, $250 million Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act pilot program that was included in the Senate water bill that passed the upper chamber in May. Those federal loans could not be paired with tax-exempt bonds, but could supplement taxable bonds. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee chairman Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., who sponsored that bill, said she was eager to work with House members to get a final law passed.
“I am pleased that Republican and Democratic leaders on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee worked together to develop a bipartisan bill, and I urge the House to move quickly so that we can reconcile the House and Senate approaches and get a water resources development bill to the president’s desk,” Boxer said.
