House Passes Bills From Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Sending Them to the Senate

Press Release

Today, the United States House of Representatives passed four bills from the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, including legislation to help States develop and implement their own programs for managing nonpoint sources of water pollution; amend the Stafford Act to allow Federal employees to participate in the National Urban Search and Rescue Response system; authorize the use of the Capitol Grounds to honor our law enforcement; and authorize the use of the Capitol Grounds for the Greater Washington Soap Box Derby. All four bills had been reported out of Committee by voice vote.

"I am pleased the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is working in a bipartisan way to streamline FEMA services, honor law enforcement officers, and address local water pollution. I applaud Chair Titus, Majority Leader Hoyer, and Representatives Craig and Hartzler for introducing these pieces of legislation and Ranking Member Graves for his cooperation in moving these important bills forward. I encourage the Senate to take up these bills as soon as possible," said Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-OR).

"I want to thank Chairman DeFazio for working with our side of the aisle to move today's bills forward. I particularly want to thank my colleague from Missouri, Representative Hartzler, for her bill that ensures National Urban Search and Rescue teams across the country will be able to field their entire teams and not be impeded by a misinterpretation of the law, as well as Congressman Mast for his leadership on today's bill to promote the federal-state-local partnership in addressing water pollution issues," said Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Ranking Member Sam Graves (R-MO).

H.Con.Res. 16 -- Authorizing the use of the Capitol Grounds for the National Peace Officers Memorial Service and the National Honor Guard and Pipe Band Exhibition (Rep. Dina Titus)

H.Con.Res. 16 authorizes the use of the Capitol Grounds for the National Peace Officers Memorial Service (to honor law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty in 2018) and the National Honor Guard and Pipe Band Exhibition (to provide for law enforcement from around the country to exhibit their ability to demonstrate Honor Guard programs and provide for a bagpipe exhibition).

H.Con.Res. 19 -- Authorizing the use of the Capitol Grounds for the Greater Washington Soap Box Derby (Rep. Steny Hoyer)

H.Con.Res. 19 authorizes the use of the Capitol Grounds for the Greater Washington Soap Box Derby, which allows children to demonstrate their dedication, work, and creativity as they compete for trophies.

H.R. 1331 -- Local Water Protection Act (Rep. Angie Craig)

H.R. 1331 authorizes $200 million annually through FY2024 for the nonpoint source management grants program administered by the Environmental Protection Agency. This program helps States develop and implement their own programs for managing nonpoint sources of water pollution, including runoff that can carry pollutants, such as fertilizers and sediment from fields, toxins from abandoned mines, and oils and heavy metals from roads, into lakes, rivers, and other bodies of water.

H.R. 639 -- To amend section 327 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to clarify that National Urban Search and Rescue Response System task forces may include Federal employees (Rep. Vicky Hartzler)

H.R. 639 is a technical correction that would amend section 327 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to explicitly clarify that Federal employees are allowed to participate in the National Urban Search and Rescue Response System task forces, which are coordinated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

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