Thomas R. Carper

Mr. President, on behalf of the majority leader, I ask the Chair to execute the order of December 12 with respect to the House message to accompany S. 4367.

Mr. President, I move to concur in the House amendment to

Mr. President, I would like to yield to the gentlewoman from West Virginia.

Mr. President, before we vote on WRDA this afternoon, I want to express my strong support for this bill, S. 4367, which my friend and colleague Shelley Moore Capito has graciously named in my honor.

You could have knocked me over with a feather when we came to the end of the markup a couple of months ago in our committee on this legislation, and I asked if any of our members had another amendment they wanted to offer. No one spoke up but you, and you said that you would like to offer an amendment to name this bill in my honor.

It is undeserved but very much appreciated as I prepare to weigh anchor, as we say in the Navy, and sail off into the sunrise with my wife Martha.

The Thomas R. Carper Water Resources Development Act of 2024, also known as WRDA--Water Resources Development Act--is the product of not days, not weeks, but months of hard work and partnership with you, Senator Capito, and your staff gathered here today as well as our House colleagues Congressman Sam Graves and Congressman Rick Larsen.

This year, I am pleased to say that our legislation includes far more--far more--than just the WRDA legislation itself. This package also reauthorizes the Economic Development Administration for the first time in--get this--20 years. It also reauthorizes our Federal regional Commissions and includes important transportation and Federal building provisions to increase transparency and to reduce Federal waste.

Before we vote today, I would like to take a minute or two to discuss some of the important things this legislation will accomplish, if enacted, for the American people.

First, this legislation continues the tradition of timely passage of the Water Resources Development Act. As Senator Capito knows, we try to do this legislation, pass this legislation, formulate this legislation, every 2 years. We were right on the money, too, in terms of meeting that schedule.

Some of our colleagues know I am a Navy guy, the last Vietnam veteran serving in the U.S. Senate. Having said that, I have a deep respect for the Army Corps of Engineers. I like to say: Navy and Army--different uniforms but the same team.

In my State and, frankly, I think in all 50 States, the Army Corps of Engineers does extraordinary work for the American people. For example, the Corps manages our Nation's ports, our waterways, and our coastal systems. The work of the Corps is essential for sustaining America's commerce, while protecting our environment and our communities. The Corps restores our ecosystems in critical areas such as the bayous in Louisiana and the Everglades in Florida, which are home to not only a number of endangered species but are indispensable parts of our agricultural supply chain as well. The Corps also advances flood and storm management solutions across our country to protect vulnerable communities

like the bay beaches of Delaware. As the largest manager of our Nation's water infrastructure, the Corps and the biennial WRDA bill play a critical role in job creation, job retention, and in growth as well.

Enactment of the Water Resources Development Act of 2024 is essential for enabling the Army Corps of Engineers to meet the needs of communities throughout America. WRDA 2024 strengthens the Corps' ability to address diverse water resource needs throughout America. In fact, it authorizes water infrastructure projects, studies, and programs that will impact all 50 States. Let me say again. It will impact not just our States, not just the States that are represented on Environment and Public Works--all 50 States.

Every Senator in this body had the opportunity to participate with us on the committee to help make sure the views and needs of their States are reflected in this bill.

There are I think something like 200 feasibility studies and some 22 new or modified construction projects that are covered in this legislation.

Additionally, WRDA 2024 directs the Corps to expedite implementation of authorities provided by Congress in prior WRDAs. Increasingly powerful hurricanes, rising sea levels, and record temperatures underscore the need for the Corps to develop and execute a plan to fully implement past reauthorizations as soon as possible in order to better protect our communities. The water resource challenges facing our communities are already growing in number, and this bill will help us address it.

Additionally, WRDA 2024 also contains a full reauthorization of the Economic Development Administration for the first time in 20 years. Let me say that again--for the first time in 20 years.

Some will recall that the Economic Development Administration, or EDA, is a Federal Agency that invests in the development of distressed communities across America. Through its grant programs, the Economic Development Administration helps local communities plan for economic development activities, construct ``last-mile'' infrastructure, and mitigate the effects of short- and long-term economic challenges and disasters.

By reauthorizing this Agency, EDA, we have the opportunity to modernize this legislation, WRDA. We also have the opportunity to modernize the Economic Development Administration for today's challenges, while improving its ability to foster economic growth and build resilient supply chains.

WRDA 2024 also authorizes and updates the laws pertaining to certain Federal and regional Commissions and will establish two new regional Commissions--the mid-Atlantic regional Commission and the Southern New England regional Commission. The mid-Atlantic regional Commission includes Delaware under its purview.

Finally, WRDA 2024 includes important provisions to increase transparency and accountability, while also reducing Federal waste at the Department of Transportation and General Services Administration.

As we move today to consider the Water Resources Development Act of 2024, I am reminded of an old proverb that goes something like this: If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to travel far, go together.

That is what we have done. We have gone together. With this bill, I am proud to say we have chosen consciously that approach.

That is how we should approach much of our work in Congress--by reaching across the aisle to work together and find lasting solutions where possible to the problems we face as a nation. After all, bipartisan solutions are lasting solutions.

The bill before us today is a result of that partnership--not only between Members but also between our staffs.

Before I conclude today, I want to say thank you to Senator Capito's staff. She was nice enough to mention the names of some of the members of our staff on the majority side. I also want to mention the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers congressional affairs staff and the staff of the Senate legislative counsel. That includes Adam Tomlinson, Murphie Barrett, Libby Callaway, Dan Linkowski, Dom Rupp, Katherine Scarlett, Brett Jortland, Jack Cline, Dave Wethington, Amy Klein, Deanna Edwards, and Mark Mazzone.

I also want to take a moment and acknowledge the members of my own staff on the majority side and to thank them from the bottom of my heart for all their work, including late nights and long hours. Among them are Linnea Saby, Ryan Smith, Claire Shanklin, Jordan Baugh, Nicole Comisky, Jordan Smallwood, Tara Kroft, Courtney Taylor, and their leader John Kane.

In closing, let me urge all of our colleagues to join Senator Capito and me in supporting what we believe is an excellent bill--certainly not because my name is associated with it but because every State stands to benefit from the provisions it contains.

I close and add one last quick note. Almost every day, I travel back and forth on the train from Delaware to Washington. I talk to people coming and going. One of the things I hear the most is: Why can't you guys work together and get stuff done in Washington, the House and the Senate?

This legislation is living proof that we can do that and we can do it well. We have been doing it with this legislation for years and with a lot of other legislation that has emanated and come out of the Environment and Public Works Committee.

I want to commend Senator Capito for working with me and our Democratic and Republican colleagues to help make that happen, again, for the last 2 years.

In closing, let me urge all our colleagues to join Senator Capito and me in supporting what we believe is an excellent bill--certainly not because, again, of my name but because every State--every single State--stands to benefit from the provisions this legislation contains.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, before we vote this afternoon, I want to rise to express my strong support for the nomination of Matthew James Marzano to serve as a member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Today there is a critical need for nuclear power in our country and in the world.

This carbon-free energy source is essential to ensuring the reliability of our electricity grid and to continuing our work to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

I have said on this Senate floor before, but it bears repeating: Nuclear energy has become the largest source of reliable clean energy in the United States.

I will say that again.

Nuclear energy has become the largest source of reliable clean energy in the United States, providing about 20 percent of our Nation's electricity--but get this--nearly half of our clean power. Nearly half. As it turns out, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission plays an important role in facilitating the deployment of safe and clean nuclear power.

Most American citizens never heard of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Every one of them have an interest in making sure that we address this climate crisis that we face as a nation, as a planet. Everybody here wants to make sure that the electricity, when we turn on the lights, that it works and that the prices that we pay for that are affordable.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission helps on those fronts. But a really big thing that they do is to make sure that the energy that is created through nuclear sources is safe and something that we can go to bed at night and not have to worry about causing calamity or disaster in this country.

That is a big reason why it is critical that we, in this body, confirm Matthew Marzano to be a member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. They have five seats. One of those seats is vacant, and we need to fill that fifth and the last remaining vacancy on the Commission.

Let me take a moment to discuss why Matt is uniquely qualified for this position. To put it simply, no other Commissioner has the distinct and valuable set of credentials that Matt possesses. He has extensive technical expertise. He has gained over the course a series of positions in the nuclear industry, including as a nuclear engineer. He has run a nuclear power plant control room and has overseen safety, operations, and maintenance personnel onsite. He has trained with sailors--I say this as a retired Navy captain, proudly I say this. He has trained sailors for service aboard our Navy's nuclear ships, one of which I was on last week: the USS Delaware. And he has actually worked on the safety systems of a new reactor that is under construction.

Most recently, Matt has applied his background as a nuclear engineer through his role as a member of my staff--our staff--on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Matt worked tirelessly with me, Senator Capito, and her team--our team--to move the ADVANCE Act--her legislation, she led us on this--but it was our legislation to accelerate the deployment of nuclear energy safely and to move that legislation through the Senate, through the Congress, and to the President's desk.

In my view, no one--no one--is in a better position to help implement the ADVANCE Act legislation that we passed here overwhelmingly--no one better prepared than Matt Marzano. And no one else on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission possesses his combination of, on the one hand, a deep expertise and, on the other hand, relevant experience.

Matt is pragmatic. Matt is hard-working. He is thoughtful, and he is kind. He believes, as I do, in working across the aisle to find common ground. He is a dedicated public servant of the American people.

It is no surprise that his nomination has won the support of a number of key organizations involved, as we attempt to bring about a new nuclear era. They include the Nuclear Innovation Alliance, Third Way, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers,

Good Energy Collective, American Nuclear Society, Fusion Industry Association, and General Atomics.

In conclusion, if Matt Marzano is confirmed--and I hope he will be-- the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will be fully empowered to make sure that we seize the day with respect to this crucial moment for the future of nuclear energy for our country.

I urge our colleagues to join me in confirming Matthew James Marzano as a member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

With that, I yield the floor.

I ask for the yeas and nays.