Senate Names Water Bill Conferees

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WASHINGTON — Leaders of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee  have appointed six senators to join them on the conference committee that will reconcile two versions of water legislation, one of which contains a public-private partnership pilot program.

Joining committee chairman Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and ranking minority member David Vitter, R-La., will be Sens. Max Baucus, D-Mont. Thomas Carper, D-Del., Ben Cardin, D- Md., Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., John Barasso, R-Wyo., and James Inhofe, R-Okla. The group is charged with negotiating with conferees from the House, who are not expected to be named until after Nov. 12 when the House returns from recess, in order to produce a bill funding the nation’s water infrastructure programs, including those of the Army Corps of Engineers.

The Senate passed S. 601, the Water Resources and Development Act by a vote of 83-14 in May. That bill includes the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act, or WIFIA, which would be authorized at $250 million over five years. The WIFIA program is modeled on the Transportation, Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) program, which provides loans and loan guarantees for highway programs. However, unlike with TIFIA, WIFIA loans and guarantees could not be used in conjunction with tax-exempt debt. But they could be used to supplement taxable bonds.

The House passed H.R. 3080, the Water Resources and Reform Development Act last week by a vote of 417 to 3, but that bill does not contain the WIFIA program.

“WRDA is one of the single most significant pieces of infrastructure legislation we’ve voted on this year, and I look forward to working to get a final bill that includes our Senate provisions,” Vitter said. “We have the opportunity to reform the Corps of Engineers, streamline flood protection projects, and improve our waterways and infrastructure all in one bill. This is a huge benefit for our entire country.”

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