Washington Update
National Waterways Conference News Alert
13 December 2013
WRDA Update At their first meeting on November 20th to
reconcile the differences in their respective water resources
bills, House and Senate conferees set an aggressive goal to
produce a final conference report before they adjourned for the
year. However, the House left town last night, and the
Senate will follow suit next week, leaving WRDA negotiations at a
standstill.
Among the issues still being debated are the expenditures from the
Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund, the method by which to authorize
projects, and the Senate’s WIFIA program. Both chambers hope
to come back renewed in January, with a goal of reaching a final
agreement later in the month or perhaps in February.
In the meantime, the
Administration has weighed in, setting forth its views on
various issues, as detailed in the attached letter. The
Administration objects to the project streamlining processes in
both the House and Senate bills, and opposes any financial or
procedural penalties for failure to meet project delivery
timelines. The Administration also objects to various
cost-sharing provisions, including the Olmsted adjustment in
both bills, the use of HMTF revenues for activities that are not
currently a Federal responsibility, and the O&M shift from
45ft to 50ft channel deepening.
[UMRA note: the Administration's remarks
make no reference to cost-sharing for Corps operations.]
The Administration would support adding fish and wildlife
protection as an authorized purpose for all Corps’ dams, and thus
objects to section 2014 in the Senate bill (dam optimization) and
section 143 in the House bill, which would prohibit adding other
authorized purposes. (As mentioned in other alerts, there
are other significant concerns with section 2014).
Budget Deal
The House yesterday passed a bipartisan budget bill crafted by House
Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Senate Budget Chairwoman Patty
Murray (D-WA). Adopted by a 332-94 vote, the agreement
sets the funding levels for federal expenditures for the next two
years.
The agreement, which calls for a $45 billion increase in spending
for the current year, cancels out some of the sequestration cuts for
the next two years with a mix of revenue increases and spending cuts
in years to come. It heads off the immediate threat of another
government shutdown, but the Appropriations Committees will have
until January 15th (when the current continuing resolution expires)
to develop an omnibus bill. At this point, the 302 (b) level –
the amount that will be allocated to the energy and water bill – has
not been determined. No details have emerged on Corps’
funding, but Interior Secretary Sally Jewell cautioned that the
agreement leaves in place sequestration cuts to mandatory funds that
could affect states and water programs. The agreement also
does not deal with the looming debt ceiling, an issue that House
Speaker Boehner said will be addressed sometime next
year.
NFIP Action
The effort to bring the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act
(S. 1610) to the Senate floor for a vote as a standalone bill under
Unanimous Consent earlier this week was not successful.
Efforts continue on this front and we will keep you apprised of
further developments.
CEQ Changes
Both Director Nancy Sutley and the Deputy Director Gary Guzy have
announced their intention to depart from the Council on
Environmental Quality in the coming weeks. Currently, the
third in line is Chief of Staff Michael Boots. No other
announcements have been made at this point.
SAVE THE DATE - 2014 Legislative Summit
March 24-26. Registration will be coming in early
January.
National Waterways Conference, Inc.
1100 North Glebe Road
Suite 1010
Arlington, VA 22201
703-224-8007
info@waterways.org
www.waterways.org