Hearing of the Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee - Opening Statement of Rep. Graves, Roundtable on America's Water Resources Infrastructure: Concepts for the Next Water Resources Development Act

Hearing

Good morning, and welcome everybody to our kickoff roundtable for the next Water Resources Development Act. I want to first thank the Port and our colleagues from the South Florida Region for hosting us today.

In the past three years, we have enacted major, transformational changes to the Corps. Congress made a conscious effort in WRRDA 2014 to enhance America's competiveness and strengthen investments in the Nation's water resources infrastructure, by including several transformative provisions in the law.

WRRDA 2014 reformed bureaucracy, and increased Congressional oversight in prioritizing future water resources investment.

With WRDA 2016, we got back to a two-year cycle and built on the reforms of WRRDA 2014 to further increase flexibility and remove barriers for state, local, and non-federal interests to invest in infrastructure.

Today, we begin the process of building off this extraordinary success. And with the help of our diverse group of participants today, I look forward to a thoughtful discussion on our Nation's water resources infrastructure.

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