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Congress Adjourns for the Election
Congress finished up it remaining business last week and has recessed for the next month and a half to allow Members to travel back to their districts for the upcoming election in November. Congress plans to reconvene the week of November 14 for a lame duck session. Before recessing last week, Congress passed several important pieces of legislation that included a bill keeping the government funded through December 9 and a Water Resources Development Act (WRDA).
Continuing Resolution (CR)
- The CR keeps the government funded at FY 2016 levels up until December 9, 2016. The CR also provides an additional $1.1 billion dollars to fight the Zika Virus and $500 million through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) for Louisiana and other storm-ravaged states. Congress will look to find a compromise on a path forward with the FY 2017 budget when it returns for the lame duck session later in the fall, when it will likely pass either a massive omnibus appropriations bill, several smaller "minibus" bills, or another CR.
Water Resources Development Act
- The House passed a WRDA bill that funds approximately $5 billion in new U.S. Army Corps projects nationally. The Senate approved an approximately $10.6 billion WRDA earlier last month that included a separate safe drinking water title and additional aid for communities facing drinking water crises. Pushed by the CR negotiations, the Republican leadership allowed Democrats to offer an amendment authorizing additional aid for communities such as Flint. Both the House and the Senate will now have to begin reconciling the differences between the two bills so that when Congress returns in November, a final WRDA compromise can be passed before the end of the year.
Several key regional amendments were approved when the bill was on the House floor that include:
- Rep. David Joyce (OH) - Authorizes the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative at $300 million a year for five years;
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Rep. Dan Kildee (MI) - Provides $170 million in aid to Flint, Michigan and other communities that have been devastated by lead contamination of their drinking water;
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Rep. Reid Ribble (WI) - Encourages the use of natural features in Corps projects;
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Rep. Grace Meng (NY) - Encourages flood mitigation projects that prevent ice jams;
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Rep. Gwen Moore (WI) - R
evises the Corps' tribal consultation policies;
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Rep. Mike Quigley (IL) - Expedites the completion of the project for flood control, Chicagoland Underflow Plan, Illinois, phase 2; and
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Rep. Bill Huizenga (MI) - Makes permanent a set aside of Army Corps priority funding for the Great Lakes.
For more information, contact
Matthew McKenna
, Director of the Great Lakes Washington Program or
Jared Mott
, Senior Policy Analyst for the Mississippi River at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
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