Press Releases

House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO), T&I Ranking Member Rick Larsen (D-WA), Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) Chairman Tom Carper (D-DE), and EPW Ranking Member Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) today announced a final agreement on the Thomas R. Carper Water Resources Development Act of 2024 (WRDA).   

WRDA is biennial legislation that authorizes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) Civil Works Program to carry out projects to improve the nation’s ports and harbors, inland waterway navigation, flood and storm protection, and other aspects of our water resources infrastructure. These are locally-driven projects that also deliver regional and national benefits to strengthen our global competitiveness and supply chain, grow the economy, move goods throughout the country, protect communities from flooding, and more.  The final version of WRDA follows negotiations over recent months to reconcile House- and Senate-passed versions of the legislation.  This is the sixth consecutive Congress that has considered a WRDA bill since 2014.

“WRDA regularly delivers critical water resources infrastructure improvements for communities across America.  This bill will lead to improved ports, levees, navigation channels, flood protection, and more.  WRDA also makes policy and programmatic reforms to streamline Corps processes, reduce cumbersome red tape, and get projects done faster,” said T&I Chairman Graves. “Furthermore, this agreement includes additional reforms advanced by our committee this Congress that will improve the utilization of public building office space, reduce the amount of taxpayer dollars wasted on empty federal buildings, and get federal workers back in the office.”

“The T&I Committee is focused on investing in the nation’s infrastructure while creating good-paying jobs for hardworking women and men, and these bills are no exception,” T&I Ranking Member Larsen said. “The Water Resources Development Act of 2024 continues a proud bipartisan, bicameral tradition to create jobs and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the nation’s ports, harbors and inland waterways. By reauthorizing the Economic Development Administration and several regional economic development commissions, this legislation supports locally-driven economic growth in regions across the country. This legislation also improves the operations of the General Services Administration’s Public Buildings Service and redistributes unused funding from the Department of Transportation’s TIFIA program to assist local transportation projects and create jobs in communities across the country.”

“The timely passage of the Water Resources Development Act every two years is essential to ensuring the Army Corps of Engineers can continue to address the diverse water resource needs of our nation. And today, I’m pleased to say we are one step closer to getting this bill across the finish line. This legislation will advance projects that invest in our waterways and improve our quality of life. It also reauthorizes the Economic Development Administration for the first time in 20 years,” said EPW Chairman Carper. “Altogether, this package will drive our nation’s job growth, invest in American water infrastructure and supply chains, and protect our communities in the face of extreme weather. I’m deeply grateful to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle in the House and Senate for their hard work.”

“WRDA is the result of bipartisan cooperation and our shared desire to address the water resource challenges that our nation faces,” EPW Ranking Member Capito said. “It provides the tools that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers needs to further enable their work across the country and supports vital projects in West Virginia’s communities. Additionally, this bill reauthorizes the Economic Development Administration’s authorities and programs for the first time since 2004, as well as regional commissions which will bolster economic growth and job creation in the areas that need it the most. It also facilitates the responsible use of federal public buildings and unlocks a significant backlog of transportation funding for state departments of transportation. This bill will move our country forward by bolstering our infrastructure and strengthening our economy. I’m proud of the agreement that we reached with our House colleagues and I look forward to voting for this bill in the following weeks.”

Click here to read the full text of the House Amendment to S. 4367, the Thomas R. Carper Water Resources Development Act of 2024.

Click here for a section by section summary of the legislation.

The WRDA legislative agreement also includes additional provisions to increase the efficient use of federally-owned office space, including setting occupancy standards, strengthening congressional oversight and public accountability of federal real estate projects, selling certain unused federal properties, and saving money for the taxpayers.

Furthermore, the agreement includes provisions to address concerns raised over the past several years by state departments of transportation by redistributing unobligated balances under the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) program to the states through the existing Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) program.

Finally, the agreement reauthorizes and modernizes the Economic Development Administration and other regional commissions whose mission is to spur economic development in distressed communities across the country.