The U.S. House of Representatives on Dec. 8 approved the final version of the Water Resources Development Act of 2020 (WRDA), which includes language from a bill offered by U.S. Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO) to improve America’s rivers and harbors, and provide for the conservation and development of water and related resources.
“Lives and livelihoods depend on the important reforms in WRDA and I am proud to cosponsor this bipartisan bill so we can help reduce the disastrous flooding we’ve seen over the years and improve the navigability of our rivers,” said Rep. Graves. “This bill is the product of a bipartisan effort and it’s the perfect example of the way things should work around here.”
The House and Senate-approved WRDA, S. 1811, now heads to the president’s desk to be signed into law. The measure represents an agreement between committees in both chambers of Congress on final bill language that is partly based on Rep. Graves’ same-named bill, H.R. 7575, which received House approval in July after being introduced by the congressman in 2019, according to his office.
For instance, the final bill contains several provisions important to Graves’ constituents in northern Missouri, including expanding work on a Lower Missouri River Basin Flood Risk and Resiliency Plan, and expedited completion of maintenance and repair activities for federally operated and maintained levee systems in the Lower Missouri River Basin. In addition, it incorporates changes to the Inland Waterways Trust Fund cost-share, which would help make repairs and upgrades to locks and dams on the Mississippi River, according to the lawmaker’s office.
“North Missouri’s inland waterways are dependent on the WRDA,” Rep. Graves said on Tuesday. “Ensuring that timely flood control and navigation improvements continue to occur is a centerpiece of this bill.”