Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 3080.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I will submit for the Record an exchange of letters between the Committee on Budget, the Committee on Natural Resources, and the Committee on Ways and Means.

Mr. Chairman, I am proud today that we are considering one of my highest priorities as the chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee--H.R. 3080, the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2013, or WRRDA.

WRRDA is the most policy- and reform-focused legislation of its kind in the last two decades. The new name reflects the landmark reforms. We have added an ``R,'' for Water Resources Reform and Development Act, because of the number of reforms that we have in here. It is the most fiscally responsible WRRDA in history, and there are no earmarks. It does not cede our constitutional congressional authority to the executive branch. We made sure that we maintained that. We have worked together in a bipartisan way on this bill since day one, developing this bill with input from Members and stakeholders through listening sessions, roundtables and hearings.

I want to thank my partners and original cosponsors, Ranking Member Rahall, Water Subcommittee Chairman Bob Gibbs, and also Water Subcommittee Ranking Member Tim Bishop, for their work on this piece of legislation.

I want to thank all of the members of the committee and all of the staff members for their hard work and desire to work together on this important infrastructure and reform legislation.

I am also proud that WRRDA has received more than 70 letters of support from stakeholders, a list of which I will submit for the Record.

This bill was passed out of committee on September 19 on a voice vote. It is about strengthening our infrastructure so that we can remain competitive.

It is about economic growth. It is about trade. It is about jobs, not just the jobs that will be created when we are dredging ports and rebuilding locks and dams, but the jobs that will help our manufacturers when they manufacture their products and send them into the world markets, making sure they get there in a competitive way. Also, making sure that those products coming into our ports and harbors are getting onto the shelves of our local stores, allowing the consumers to buy these products at a lower cost, allowing them to keep more of their hard-earned dollars.

Congress has not enacted a WRRDA since 2007 and we can't afford to delay. Without improvement, our water transportation system becomes obsolete every day and we become less competitive. If we cannot compete, we lose jobs to those who can.

Our bill cuts red tape, reforms the bureaucracy, accelerates project delivery. It sets hard deadlines on the time and cost of studies. It also consolidates or eliminates unnecessary studies and requires concurrent reviews. And our bill streamlines environmental reviews. I want to repeat, it streamlines them; doesn't eliminate them, but streamlines them.

Our bill is also fiscally responsible. This WRRDA bill deauthorizes $12 billion of old, inactive projects that were authorized prior to this current law and fully offsets new authorizations. In addition, it sunsets new authorizations to prevent future backlogs at the Corps of Engineers.

This WRRDA has no earmarks. Our bill establishes a new, transparent process for future bills to review and prioritize water resources development activities, with strong constitutional oversight and without handing over our constitutional authority to the executive branch. I want to repeat that. I think it is very important that this body, that Congress, holds on to its constitutional authority and not give it over to the executive branch, as we have done for decades.

We have been recognized by leading outside watchdog groups for having a bill with no earmarks and for keeping congressional oversight without ceding that authority to the Corps. I am extremely proud of the accomplishments, and we should all be.

WRRDA breaks down barriers that hold back the development of our water resources infrastructure. It maximizes the ability of non-Federal interests to contribute their own funds to move studies and projects forward. It also expands the ability of non-Federal interests to contribute funds to expedite the evaluation and processing of permits, and it establishes a public-private partnership program in water infrastructure. With the leadership of Rodney Davis, that is in this WRRDA legislation.

This bill improves our ability to compete by authorizing needed investments in America's ports. As I mentioned, this is a jobs bill, not just construction jobs to improve our ports, but to help our manufacturers and to help Americans be able to keep more of their hard- earned dollars.

Our bill supports our underserved and emerging ports to also help them become more competitive. It reforms and preserves the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund and the Inland Waterways Trust Fund to better ensure those fees collected from users for these systems are utilized for their intended purposes.

These are all important and necessary reforms, but at its heart WRRDA ensures that we don't lose sight of the importance of strong infrastructure and keeping us competitive in the world. Our bill supports our water transportation network to make sure that it provides the foundation for job growth and fosters a more robust economy.

I ask all Members of the House, Republicans and Democrats, to join me in supporting this bill.

I reserve the balance of my time.

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC, September 27, 2013.

Hon. Bill Shuster,

Chairman, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure,

Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Shuster, I am writing concerning H.R. 3080,

the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2013

(WRRDA), which was marked-up by the Committee on

Transportation and Infrastructure on September 19, 2013.

In order to expedite House consideration of H.R. 3080, the

Committee on the Budget will forgo action on the bill. This

is being done with the understanding that it does not in any

way prejudice the Committee with respect to the appointment

of conferees or its jurisdictional prerogatives on this or

similar legislation.

I would appreciate your response to this letter, confirming

this understanding with respect to H.R. 3080, and would ask

that a copy of our exchange of letters on this matter be

included in the Congressional Record during Floor

consideration.

Sincerely,

Paul Ryan,

Chairman.

Mr. Chairman, at this time, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Gibbs), chairman of the Subcommittee on Water Resources, someone who has great responsibility in crafting this legislation.

I yield an additional 15 seconds to the gentleman.

Mr. Chairman, can I inquire as to how much time is remaining on both sides?

Mr. Chairman, it is now my pleasure to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Duncan), vice chairman of the full Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and also the chair of the 21st Century Freight Transportation.

Mr. Chairman, it is my pleasure to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Meadows).

Mr. Chairman, it is now my pleasure to yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from West Virginia (Mrs. Capito).

Mr. Chairman, it is now my pleasure to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from South Carolina, Governor Sanford.

Mr. Chairman, it is now my pleasure to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Whitfield).

Mr. Chairman, it is my pleasure to yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Fleischmann).

Mr. Chairman, may I inquire as to how much time I have remaining?

Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Williams).

Mr. Chairman, I am very pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Massie).

Mr. Chairman, it is now my honor to yield 30 seconds to the majority leader of the House, Mr. Cantor.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the whip for his kind words.

I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Hanna).

Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Bucshon), a member of the committee.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Farenthold).

Mr. Chairman, it is my pleasure to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Rodney Davis).

Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Scalise) for the purpose of a colloquy.

I would like to engage in a colloquy, but first, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Cassidy) for the purpose of a colloquy.

I reserve my answer until I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Capuano) for a colloquy.

I appreciate the gentleman from Massachusetts.

I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from California (Mr. Denham) for the purpose of a colloquy.

I yield the gentleman an additional 15 seconds.

I thank the gentleman, and all of my colleagues. At this point I would like to respond to them, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.

One of the key principles in developing WRRDA was increasing transparency, accountability and congressional oversight without ceding constitutional congressional responsibility to the executive branch.

WRRDA authorizes 23 vital water resources projects that have completed the technical review by the Corps of Engineers and have been recommended by the Corps of Engineers.

The committee held a full committee hearing to review all the pending Chief's Reports on June 5, 2013. My position has been clear. In order to maintain our constitutional congressional authority, Congress must review the Chief's Reports and specifically authorize them. We cannot hand over our authority to the administration and the Corps of Engineers to self-authorize.

Chief's Reports have been finalized on the three reports that the gentleman has questioned and will be reviewed and considered by the committee as we continue to work through WRRDA.

To provide strong congressional oversight, I commit to holding a hearing at the appropriate time in the process so that the very important issues are fully considered and have the opportunity to be addressed.

With that, I thank the gentlemen for engaging in colloquy, and I reserve the balance of my time.

I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Lankford), the distinguished Policy Committee chairman.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 15 seconds to respond to the gentleman.

I appreciate the gentleman's leadership on it. I agree with him. We need to move forward to get these properties off the Corps' books, so we will continue to work with the gentleman to make sure we expedite this and make sure the Corps is eliminating things that are not important to their mission.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Pearce).

I thank the gentleman from New Mexico and am committed to work with him.

Mr. Chairman, may I inquire how much time I have remaining?

I thank the Chair, and I yield myself the remaining time.

I also thank members from the other side of the aisle, Mr. Rahall, Mr. Bishop of New York, and their staff for all their hard work and for working together to produce a bipartisan bill, a bill that is full of policy, full of reform, a bill that is fiscally responsible and, I must say, is the most fiscally responsible WRRDA in the history of WRRDA. There are no earmarks, but we made sure that we did not cede any of our constitutional congressional authority to the executive branch, which I believe is very important for this body and for the Congress.

As I have said, we have worked together in a bipartisan fashion in talking to the stakeholders at roundtables and in hearings and coming up with a piece of legislation, and I am very proud we have it on the floor today.

Again, our thanks to Ranking Member Rahall, Ranking Member Bishop, and the entire staff on the minority for working with us so closely.

Also, I would like to thank our staff for the long hours that they have put in, and my counterpart, Subcommittee Chairman Gibbs, for his efforts and his staff member Joe Price who worked so hard and also John Anderson, Geoff Bowman, Jonathan Pawlow, and Tracy Zea from the Water Resources Subcommittee.

And in the front office, starting with the leadership of Chris Bertram, the staff director, and a special thanks to the deputy staff director and my long-time staff member Steve Martinko for ramrodding this through the committee--I appreciate his support--Beth Spivey, Matt Sturges, Jim Tymon, Jennifer Hall, Clare Doherty, Jim Billimoria, Justin Harclerode, Michael Marinaccio, Caryn Moore, Denny Wirtz, and Keith Hall. All of these folks put in so many hours to make sure that we have on the floor here today a very good product, one that I am proud to stand behind, and I urge all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to vote in favor of H.R. 3080.

With that, I yield back the balance of my time.

I thank the distinguished gentleman from Florida, the manager, for yielding the time. He knows how important this whole bill is to the Texas gulf region.

Mr. Speaker, let me say that there are many things we would like to fix in this bill, but I know that there are many Texans who are waiting for this bill to pass; and I was delighted to work with the Texas delegation to strengthen the bill by encouraging non-Federal entities to invest in their harbor maintenance and step in when the Army Corps of Engineers cannot. I am also delighted that we have addressed the question of dredging, and we should do it even better.

I thank the Rules Committee for consenting to my amendment that deals with consultation, with stakeholders and water districts, local city, county government. I know my local governments are waiting to have the Army Corps of Engineers actually listen to them as well as Historically Black Colleges and minority institutions.

I am also looking forward to making sure that the $20 billion in projects in the DeFazio amendment is included and not rejected.

And finally, I hope that we can work together, Mr. Speaker, on ensuring minority- and women-owned businesses and the billions of dollars that are used by the Army Corps of Engineers are actually getting the opportunity to work. I ask my colleagues to recognize the importance of this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the Chairman and the Ranking Member for bringing this important legislation to the House floor. Smart investments in water infrastructure are critical to the Nation's economic well-being. Water infrastructure is vital to my home State of Texas.

For example, waterways and ports support 207,970 Texas jobs. Additionally, it generates $34 billion dollars in economic activity to the Texas economy. As the Representative of the 18th Congressional District, which is adjacent to the Port of Houston, I understand how critically important it is to make smart investments to create jobs and keep our economy growing.

Texas's commercial deepwater ports connect 152,000 miles of rail, 460,000 miles of pipelines, and 45,000 miles of interstate highways. In addition, the State of Texas has 11 deepwater ports, but hurricane damage and age threaten their ability to handle the next generation of post-Panama vessels.

Mr. Speaker, over half of Texas port facilities require maintenance to fully accommodate the next generation of maritime shipping vessels. Without these investments, Texas and the Nation will be at a competitive disadvantage in the global economy. That is why I support

Mr. Chair, a water resources bill in 2013 is critical to the success of America, and crucial to our economic growth and job creation. The last water resources bill was signed into law six years ago, making this one long overdue. I would like to thank Mr. Shuster and Ranking Member Rahall for their leadership in moving this legislation forward.

American international trade accounts for more than one quarter of our Gross Domestic Product. More than 99 percent of our overseas trade moves through America's seaports. Cargo moving through our seaports is responsible for more than 13 million American jobs and generates in excess of $200 billion annually in federal, state, and local tax revenues. We need to keep America's economic recovery moving forward by ensuring that when American workers make products, we can efficiently move them through our ports to overseas markets.

To that end, I hope my colleagues across the aisle will support the WRRDA bill so that our navigation channels and ports are operating at their optimal levels. Of all U.S. overseas exports, 99.4 percent are waterborne and go through ports.

For America to remain on top the global economy, we need to be competitive internationally so that global consumers increasingly purchase American-made goods.

This bill takes an important first step in addressing an issue of key concern to not only the Port of Houston and Galveston in Texas, but to all of our nations' ports, the collection and use of the federal Harbor Maintenance Tax. The WRRDA bill also includes numerous reforms to help meet the maritime transportation needs of our nation today and in the future.

America's public ports and their private sector partners plan to invest more than $46 billion in seaport infrastructure in the next five years. It is important that we pass this historic legislation by investing in America's transportation infrastructure. Maintaining America's link to the global marketplace by creating and maintaining modern and efficient seaport and waterway infrastructure will provide significant benefits to our nation's economic vitality, job growth, and international competitiveness, as well as create sizable tax revenues from cargo and trade activities.

Ports serve as America's gateway to the global economy. The nation's economic prosperity rests on the ability of containerized and bulk cargo arriving unimpeded at U.S. ports to support the ``just in time'' delivery system that underpins the manufacturing and retail sectors.

According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), ports, waterways, and vessels are part of an economic engine handling more than $700 billion in merchandise annually, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and an attack on this system could have a widespread impact on global shipping, international trade, and the global economy. The Port of Houston houses approximately 100 steamship lines offering services that link Houston with 1,053 ports in 203 countries. It is also home to a $15 billion petrochemical complex, the largest in the nation and second largest worldwide.

As a result, it is an ideal port for examining security practices in the maritime environment. At the Port of Houston, and other ports across the country, balancing security concerns with the need to facilitate the free flow of people and commerce remains an ongoing challenge for both the public and private sectors.

Mr. Chair, I would like to thank Chairman Shuster, Ranking Member Rahall, Chairman Gibbs and Ranking Member Bishop in working with the Texas Delegation on behalf of our constituents to strengthen the bill by encouraging non-federal entities to invest in their harbor maintenance and step in when the Army Corps of Engineers cannot.

This legislative provision particularly benefits ports like the Port of Houston which have invested substantial amounts of their own funds to complete critical infrastructure in order to provide for safe navigation of larger vessels, and to assure its terminals remain competitive in the world market. This success complements my efforts to secure necessary funding for harbor dredging in the FY' 2014 Energy and Water Appropriations Act.

Furthermore, I would like to thank the Committee leadership for supporting the Jackson Lee Amendment #9 on the roster and including the amendment En Bloc. This amendment

provides that in making recommendations pursuant to Section 118 of the Act, the Secretary shall consult with key stakeholders, including State, county, and city governments, and, where applicable, State and local water districts, and in the case of recommendations concerning projects that substantially affect underrepresented communities the Secretary shall also consult with historically Black colleges and universities, Tribal Colleges and Universities, and other minority- serving institutions.

Mr. Chair, as you are aware, it is an essential tool in our desire to improve the lives of low income and minority communities as well as the environment at large.

I am sure we will never forget the critical impact from Hurricane Sandy that crippled the Northeast area from Massachusetts to North Carolina. And not long before Hurricane Sandy, as we were working to learn how to prevent another Hurricane Katrina that crippled the great City of New Orleans. Our nation was still healing from Hurricane Ike and Hurricane Rita which crippled Houston, Texas.

Thereby highlighting the importance of not only giving greater attention to our underserved communities but also how we can help our citizens by educating them on the areas in which they live. As my colleagues are aware, a healthy environment sustains a productive and healthy community which fosters personal and economic growth.

Consulting with key stakeholders, including State, county, and city governments, and, where applicable, State and local water districts, and in the case of recommendations concerning projects that substantially affect underrepresented communities the Secretary shall also consult with historically Black colleges and universities, Tribal Colleges and Universities, and other minority-serving institutions is imperative to protecting sustainability and growth of the community and environment.

The coordination with the aforementioned groups is vital to ensuring that economically disadvantaged and minority groups are not placed at a disadvantage when it comes to the environment and the continued preservation of their communities as we look to environmental and socioeconomic resources located within the project area and the general locations of the alternatives under consideration. Further, any issues of concern regarding the potential environmental or socioeconomic impacts of the project, including any issues that may substantially delay or prevent an agency from granting a permit or other approval that is needed for the project study.

Through education about the importance of environmental sustainability, we can promote a broader understanding of our rivers and harbors of the United States, and how citizens can improve their surroundings.

I want to also acknowledge and recognize Congressman DeFazio of Oregon for offering an amendment, in which I cosponsored that conditions the application of Section 103 of the bill on a reduction in the backlog of Corps of Engineers projects to less than $20 billion in construction costs. This amendment highlights the fact that it is a lack of funding not the environmental review process that has led to a backlog of authorized projects that are not being constructed. We have spent enough energy arguing over the budget and the National Environmental Policy (NEPA) streamlining, but not enough time in making the hard decisions and investments that are going to create economic growth and create jobs. I urge Congress to support Rep. DeFazio's amendment #2.

Mr. Chair, I believe the WRRDA bill would have been stronger with the inclusion of an amendment I offered to the Rules Committee that directs the Secretary of the Army to encourage the participation of minority- and women-owned businesses in such projects and requires the GAO to submit a report to Congress within 2 years on the participation of minority- and women-owned businesses in such projects.

I recognize the value of a diverse supplier base and its impact on the community and population at large. Therefore, I will work directly with the Secretary of the Army to establish an opportunity for Minority and Women Owned Businesses to work directly with the United States Army and the United States Corp of Engineers on specific projects that will ensure that the United States Army and the United States Corp of Engineers continues to creatively seek new supplier sources to fulfill the business opportunities at a number of Ports throughout our great nation and that minority and women owned businesses are given the opportunity to compete for these specific project business opportunities.

In closing, it is important to note that since the establishment of our Nation, our inland waterways and seaports have linked America directly to the global economy. This remains true today. Goods from all over the world reach our store shelves after arriving here through our ports, and products grown and made in the U.S.A. get to market overseas using our water transportation network.

The importance of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers mission to maintain our port and waterways infrastructure will only increase with time. Expansion of the Panama Canal is expected to be completed in 2014, allowing more and larger ships to call on America's ports. Our trade volume is expected to double within a decade, and to double again by 2030. We have to be ready for this expected growth in order to remain globally competitive.

The economic benefits of the Corps' mission are not limited to navigation and commerce. Levees, dams, reservoirs, and other measures within the Corps' mission scope provide flood protection for homes and businesses, protecting property and life.

Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3080.

Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 385 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings), my good friend and colleague, pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only.

General Leave

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this rule and the underlying bill.

House Resolution 385 provides a structured rule for consideration of H.R. 3080, the Water Resources Reform and Development Act, the first WRRDA bill since 2007. The rule makes 24 amendments submitted to the Rules Committee in order, half of which are sponsored by my colleagues across the aisle, and it provides for robust debate in the House of Representatives.

The underlying bill was marked up by the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, which reported the bill favorably with unanimous bipartisan support. The bill before us today garnered that support because of four reasons: this bill reforms the Federal bureaucracy; this bill is fiscally responsible; this bill strengthens accountability; and this bill creates jobs.

Mr. Speaker, talk to anyone around the country that relies on the Army Corps of Engineers; talk with anyone that depends on our water infrastructure, water resources and so forth; talk to anyone who wants to develop a new water resource infrastructure; talk to anyone who ships in or out of our harbors or ports. Maybe you have the opportunity to talk with our shipping companies, or maybe with the women and men who work on our tugboats and barges, or maybe with the farmer who needs to get his corn to the right markets, or maybe the manufacturer who needs to ship her product or his product to a foreign customer, or maybe the port director who is trying to get America prepared for the economic opportunities that will come with the larger ships coming through the Panama Canal. Mr. Speaker, if my colleagues spoke with these men and

women, they would hear the same refrain: our bureaucracy delays American investment; our bureaucracy costs American jobs; and our bureaucracy helps America's foreign competitors.

The approval process of our critical water infrastructure takes years too long, and sometimes well over a decade. One project that my friend from Florida is familiar with is a project in Port Everglades, which has been studied for nearly two decades. Some bureaucrats have spent their entire career studying this one project. The study of the project of Port Everglades is a prime example of Washington bureaucracy crushing America's jobs and America's future.

This bill before us today does away with these delays: it sets hard deadlines on the time and cost of the studies; it consolidates or eliminates duplicative studies; it requires concurrent project review by multiple agencies; and it puts our projects on a path to construction.

Mr. Speaker, this bill reforms Federal bureaucracy, but it also is fiscally responsible. We all know that our Nation spends too much, our Nation oftentimes spends money haphazardly without a plan and without restraint. This bill does not.

Chairman Shuster is committed to restraining spending and is committed to managing American taxpayer dollars wisely. This bill is proof of that. This bill restrains spending. I commend Chairman Shuster and Ranking Member Rahall for actually making the tough choices necessary to get our budget in order.

Mr. Speaker, when was the last time an infrastructure bill was brought to the House floor and it cut more than it spent? The bill before us today does just that: it deauthorizes $12 billion of old, inactive projects; it pays for the new projects by canceling old projects; and it sunsets the construction of new projects in order to prevent future backlogs. Mr. Speaker, this bill reforms Federal bureaucracy, is fiscally responsible, and it strengthens accountability.

Many of our constituents, when they hear us talk about infrastructure, remember the days of pork barrel spending. Many of our colleagues might remember the 1939 movie about a newly appointed Senator who goes to Washington running head-on into a political machine built on earmarks and pork barrel spending. ``Mr. Smith Goes to Washington'' is a dramatic rendering of how most infrastructure bills were put together in the past. In fact, the bill that was debated in the movie was a water resource bill, and the filibuster was over an earmark in that bill. This bill ends that earmark process.

The bill before us today strengthens accountability for the American people. Gone are the days of inserting earmarks at the last minute. Gone are the days of creating new pet projects. Gone are the days of wasting taxpayer money on pork barrel spending. Mr. Speaker, this bill contains no earmarks.

It also establishes a new, transparent process for future bills that will ensure that taxpayer dollars are spent on necessary projects. It will prioritize our spending and provide strong Congressional oversight. This bill reforms Federal bureaucracy, is fiscally responsible, strengthens accountability, and creates jobs.

The key to creating American jobs is expanding our economy. American producers must be able to get their products to the world market. This push to sell to the world is a high-stakes competition that America must win. Our farmers are being pressured by our neighbors in South America. Our manufacturers are being pressured by both European and Asian countries. Our energy producers are being pressured by many foreign countries in all corners of the globe. Investing in our infrastructure will boost trade, increase American competitiveness, and position our country for economic growth. These advancements will put America to work.

While construction workers will immediately be put to work on these projects, every single American job that depends on our transportation infrastructure will benefit from this bill. Our economy will grow, our producers will compete with the world, and American jobs will be created.

Mr. Speaker, it is easy to see why this bill garnered unanimous bipartisan support from the members of the committee and why it deserves to be passed here. This bill reforms Federal bureaucracy; this bill is fiscally responsible; this bill strengthens accountability; and this bill creates jobs.

For these reasons, Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the rule and the underlying bill. Chairman Shuster, Ranking Member Rahall, and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure have provided us with a unanimously supported bipartisan bill that will move our Nation forward.

I encourage my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this rule and ``yes'' on the underlying bill.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Weber).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Collins).

Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe).

Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Benishek).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to my good friend from Georgia (Mr. Woodall).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to Mr. Southerland, my fellow Floridian and good friend.

Mr. Speaker, can you tell me how much time I have remaining?

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Yoho).

Mr. Speaker, I would like to clarify one thing, and that is the chairman and the ranking member did everything they could to stay within the guidelines and the jurisdiction of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and they did that. They did not vary in any way over into the Clean Water Act or anything else. So nothing in this bill is changing any of the standards; all it is doing is allowing parallel tracks. That is it. So the project mentioned by Mr. Woodall, which is 15 years, and the project in Mr. Hastings' area, which is 17 years, would only be done sooner, not by circumventing any environmental requirement, but through the parallel tracks.

I now yield 2 minutes to my good friend from Georgia (Mr. Kingston).

Mr. Speaker, I have no more presenters and I am prepared to close. Therefore, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I would just like to point out, again, no environmental law has been changed, none. Nothing has been weakened. Nothing has been shortchanged. Nothing has been slowed down.

The only thing that has happened is those studies, instead of being done in a linear path, one after another, are done simultaneously. It doesn't weaken anything. It doesn't undo anything. What it does do is speed up the process, which is very, very needed.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, this rule provides for ample and open debate and makes in order amendments from both sides of the aisle. Further, it advances a bill that was reported out of the committee with unanimous bipartisan support.

This bill is good for American workers, is good for American producers, and is good for American shippers. As my friend from Florida (Mr. Hastings) knows, this bill is also good for the State of Florida.

Florida has 18 public seaports. These seaports are critical components to our economy. They are responsible for supporting more than half a million Florida jobs and for generating $66 billion in total economic value. The activity of these seaports contributed $1.7 billion to Florida's State and local budgets. Furthermore, this bill advances key ecosystem restoration projects in the Florida Everglades and supports the economic development that the Everglades provides in our State.

I thank Chairman Shuster for working with me and other Florida Members to ensure that the State is well

positioned to move forward. Chairman Shuster and Ranking Member Rahall and my colleagues on the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure have given us a bipartisan product that reforms the Federal bureaucracy, is fiscally responsible, strengthens accountability, and creates jobs.

Mr. Speaker, this is a good bill. I say to my colleagues in the House, if you support reforming the Federal bureaucracy, if you are looking to manage our spending, if you are looking to increase transparency while investing in our infrastructure, and if you are looking to create American jobs, support this bill. Vote for the rule. Vote for the bill. Move the country forward.

The material previously referred to by Mr. Hastings of Florida is as follows:

An Amendment to H. Res. 385 Offered by Mr. Hastings of Florida

At the end of the resolution, add the following:

Sec. 5. Notwithstanding any other provision of this

resolution, the amendment printed in section 6 shall be in

order as though printed as the last amendment in the report

of the Committee on Rules accompanying this resolution if

offered by Representative Brown of Florida or a designee.

That amendment shall be debatable for 10 minutes equally

divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent.

Sec. 6. The amendment referred to in section 5 is as

follows:

Amendment to the Rules Committee Print for H.R. 3080 Offered by Ms.

Brown of Florida

Page 162, before line 1, insert the following:

I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

(Mr. RAHALL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to rise today in support of H.R. 1380, the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2013. I commend Chairman Shuster, the subcommittee chairman, Mr. Gibbs, and our ranking member, Mr. Bishop, for the superb bipartisan way in which this legislation and the whole process has been handled.

This legislation does provide important direction to the Army Corps of Engineers to meet its mission objectives and reform their planning and construction processes while also investing in our water transportation infrastructure and creating jobs.

It has been 6 long years since we have passed Corps of Engineers water resources legislation. While Congress has had its back turned on our water infrastructure, Mother Nature has not been complacent. Since passage of the last WRRDA in 2007, the Nation has been challenged with floods, hurricanes, and droughts. Our aging locks, dams, and ports have too often been neglected. This bill before us today stops the ``finger in the dike'' solutions to our water infrastructure challenges and instead invests in these corridors of commerce.

It should be pointed out that H.R. 3080 is not your traditional type of WRRDA. It does not contain Member-directed projects, the traditional earmarks, but at least the bill does take a step forward in reclaiming our constitutional authority.

It is clear that in today's challenging fiscal times we have to find innovative

ways to get water projects funded and completed. The pending measure identifies the role of non-Federal sponsors in supporting and moving projects ahead. It provides a process to address the $60 billion construction backlog--that is with a ``B,'' billion--and addresses initial reform to the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund program.

At its core, though, as the chairman has stated, this is a jobs bill. The investments contained in H.R. 3080 mean jobs in our maritime economy, as larger containerships will be able to call at our deepened ports to offload their cargo while filling their decks with American exports. It creates jobs moving commodities from farms, coal mines, and steel mills more efficiently down the inland waterways that crisscross our Nation. These investments also help protect our flood-prone complainants so that homes and businesses remain safe when the rivers unexpectedly rise.

I would like to thank, again, all members of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on both sides of the aisle: Chairman Shuster, Subcommittee Chairman Gibbs, and especially our ranking member on our side of the aisle, Representative Tim Bishop, who has worked very hard on this legislation and knows its intricacies very well. Their hard work and dedication has developed a collaborative and bipartisan bill of which we all can be proud. I hope it is a model for future pieces of legislation. It certainly should be a model for this entire Congress.

I urge my colleagues to support the pending measure.

Without maintaining our waterways and harbors the Nation's ability to meet the global challenges for trade and commerce will be severely restricted. The only way to protect our citizens and avoid falling behind global trade competition is to invest in our water resources and infrastructure by passing H.R. 3080 today.

As I mentioned, this is not the bill that I would have written. But I would add that this is not the exact bill that Chairman Shuster would have written either had he acted alone. He chose instead to bring before the House a bill that received unanimous support in our Committee. As a result, many of the provisions in H.R. 3080 are likely to eventually feel the weight of law instead of serving as just another exercise in rhetoric on the House floor.

Mr. Chairman, I am very proud and happy to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Bishop), our superb, super- superb ranking member.

Mr. Chairman, I am proud to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler), the ranking member on our freight panel.

Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson).

(Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Napolitano).

Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Lipinski), a valued member of our Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

Mr. Chairman, I am happy to yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. Garamendi).

Mr. Chairman, I am very happy to yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Frankel), who has worked very hard on this legislation and does a superb job of representing her ports in southern Florida.

I yield the gentlewoman an additional 1 minute.

Mr. Chairman, I am very happy to yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz) and thank her for her tremendous input and help on this legislation as we developed the bill.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania, Mr. Chaka Fattah, a very powerful member of the House Appropriations Committee.

(Mr. FATTAH asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Chairman, I am very happy to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the distinguished majority whip.

I yield the gentleman an additional 1 minute.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, may I have the time remaining on both sides, please.

I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I am very happy to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio), a very valuable member of our Transportation and Infrastructure Committee who has had tremendous input on this legislation.

Mr. Chairman, I am happy to yield 2 minutes to another gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer). This particular gentleman is a member of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee and has been a leader on that committee in discussions about financing this Nation's infrastructure, whether it be water port infrastructure or highway infrastructure, and I commend him for that leadership.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlelady from Nevada (Ms. Titus), a very valued member of our committee.

Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to yield Chairman Shuster an additional 2 minutes of my time for him to control.

Mr. Chairman, as we conclude this debate, I want to once again commend Chairman Shuster, Subcommittee Chairman Gibbs, and our ranking member, Mr. Bishop of New York, for the tremendous effort that has been made to bring this legislation where it is today.

It started out with Chairman Shuster's leadership early on in this Congress at the Member level. It spread to the staff level, and it has continued every day. It has been a transparent process and a process in which we have been in communication with one another. And as I said in the very beginning, I hope this will be a signal of how this committee will bring future pieces of legislation to the floor, and I just hope that it will be a signal to the entire Congress how we should be working closer together in a bipartisan fashion.

This legislation has a wide array of supporters. I have a list here of some five pages of labor, industry, and business supporters that have written members of our committee in strong support of the pending legislation. They include: the American Coal Ash Association, the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Association of Manufacturers, the National Association of Home Builders, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Friends from labor, including carpenters, transportation trades, AFL-CIO, Laborers' International, and many other labor organizations have come together in support of this legislation.

And as I summarize and conclude my comments, I want to quote the president of the Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO, Mr. Ed Wytkind. He wrote members of our committee:

Real investment in harbor maintenance is vital to the

health of an industry that supports 500,000 jobs, plays a

critical role in expanding U.S. exports, and is the gateway

to international trade and humanitarian aid. H.R. 3080 will

help improve our maritime infrastructure and keep pace with

our international competitors, and will also create thousands

of good-paying construction and maritime jobs during what

remains a slow economic recovery. I urge you to vote in favor

of this important legislation.

I will conclude by again thanking Chairman Shuster for his superb leadership and join with all my colleagues in urging passage of this vital piece of legislation.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, although I am not opposed to the amendment, I claim the time in opposition to the amendment offered by the gentleman from Pennsylvania.

Mr. Chairman, Shuster amendment No. 1 provides for the expediting and completion of ongoing feasibility studies and authorizes the Corps of Engineers to move to pre-construction planning, engineering, and design. It directs the Corps of Engineers to consider nonstructural alternatives in the rebuilding of areas impacted by floods and storms.

I am in support of the amendment, and I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Bishop).

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida for yielding me the customary 30 minutes, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today and agree with everything that my good friend and colleague from Florida said--everything that he said--with the exception of the fact that I am opposed to the rule. While I may support the underlying legislation, the rule blocks over 70 amendments, many of which were germane to the bill. This kind of rule is not conducive to an open process.

The bill, though far from perfect, is long overdue. There is a lot of go-nowhere, do-nothing talk about creating jobs here on the Hill, but this bill, like the highway bill and the farm bill, will actually create jobs.

The bill also reinforces a point that I have been making for some time, and that is: repairing our Nation's aging infrastructure, including our water infrastructure, is the best jobs program out there. The resulting economic benefits will ripple from our ports to Main Street America as badly needed jobs across a wide range of industries. For example, every dollar spent on Everglades restoration, like the ones authorized here, is returned fourfold by stimulating related industries like tourism, construction, and retail.

Despite these undeniable benefits, it has been 7 years since the last WRRDA bill. That is 7 years of productivity lost. But if you think 7 years is a long time, try waiting 17 years, as my colleague Mr. Webster pointed out. That is how long Port Everglades has been waiting for a Chief's Report from the Army Corps to deepen its channels in anticipation of the new Panama Canal standards. At long last, the report is due shortly, yet this bill fails to authorize the pending project. While much of the blame for the delay falls outside of this Chamber, Congress can and should do right by the port.

Mr. Speaker, the port has already waited its turn. With the new Panama Canal expansion becoming operational in 2015, any further delay for such a vital piece of our Nation's infrastructure will be too late.

I do understand that tough choices have to be made. The way I see it, the Army Corps' lengthy review process is in part to blame for the backlog of projects. Though this bill contains some partisan measures addressing this issue, the Corps has already begun testing its own way of increasing the speed of review.

One of these successful tests was the pilot program for the Central Everglades Planning Project, yet that project is not included in this bill either, despite the Chief's report for CEPP being anticipated within a few months. This new approach, when coupled with a more frequent WRRDA bill, could help eliminate the massive backlog of projects that has forced Congress to make these tough decisions.

When we look what CEPP actually does, the urgency for authorization is even more obvious. CEPP will help end the discharges of polluted water from Lake Okeechobee that have been devastating Florida communities for years. The water is choked green with algae and killing wildlife, tourism, fishing, and oyster industries, particularly in the Indian River area of our State.

The people of Florida can't wait for another WRRDA bill to roll around. The streamlined successful pilot program is infinitely more preferable than the streamlining of environmental review contained in this bill.

My friends across the aisle seem oddly opposed sometimes to having fresh water and clean air, attacking NEPA and environmental regulations at every opportunity, including otherwise inappropriate vehicles like this

bill. But I understand that no one is happy all the time.

I do have grave reservations about some of the policies in the bill and hope that we can work them out through the legislative process. There is no need for Congress to make the waters rougher than they already are. Let's continue to do our work constituents sent us here to do.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), my good friend.

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased at this time to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell), the dean of the House of Representatives.

(Mr. DINGELL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, at this time I am pleased to yield for a unanimous consent request to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Loretta Sanchez).

(Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Matsui), my good friend and a former member of the Rules Committee.

Mr. Speaker, would you be kind enough to tell us the time remaining for both sides.

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from California (Ms. Hahn) who is the cochair of the PORTS Caucus, of which I am a proud member.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. Lowenthal), my friend.

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. McIntyre), my good friend and fellow Helsinki Commission member.

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. Esty).

Mr. Speaker, at this time I am privileged to yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Washington (Mr. Heck).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Schneider).

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased at this time to yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from Maryland (Ms. Edwards).

Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Cartwright).

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Ellison).

Mr. Speaker, at this time I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Holt).

Mr. Speaker, at this time I am very pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Nolan).

Mr. Speaker, at this time I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Brown) to discuss our proposal if we defeat the previous question.

I yield the distinguished gentlewoman an additional 1 minute.

Mr. Speaker, at this time, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, this bill used to be known as the Water Resources Development Act. Now it is called the Water Resources Reform and Development Act. While it is with many of these new reforms that I take issue, I look forward to working with my friends on the other side of the aisle to make sure that we are here in 2 years to again update our water resources and infrastructure, hopefully a bill with less ill- advised reforms.

Mr. Speaker, if the previous question is defeated, I am going to offer an amendment to allow for the inclusion of the bipartisan Brown amendment, which would authorize projects that receive a final Chief of Engineers' Report up to 1 year following the enactment of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of the amendment in the Record along with extraneous material immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' and defeat the previous question. I urge a ``no'' vote on the rule, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.