American Water Stewardship Act

Floor Speech

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

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6422, the American Water Stewardship Act, as amended, a bipartisan bill that combines several standalone bills that all have broad support.

I am proud to have sponsored the ESTUARIES Act, which reauthorizes the National Estuary Program and is included in section 6 of this bill. The National Estuary Program is an important resource supporting locally led efforts to restore and protect the environmental health of estuaries of national significance, one of which is in my district and my hometown, the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program.

H.R. 6422, as amended, reauthorizes several other EPA programs that have strong bipartisan support due to their proven success. The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative covers a wide geographic area and works to protect and restore the country's largest source of freshwater.

Other programs include the Columbia River Basin Restoration Program, as well as the BEACH Act, which Representative Pallone has championed for years.

I, again, recognize my Democratic committee colleagues, Representatives McDonald Rivet, Scholten, Sykes, Gillen, Hoyle, Brownley, Pappas, Huffman, Moulton, Pou, and Norton--there are a lot of us--for their leadership on this comprehensive package, and my Republican colleagues, as well.

Reauthorizing each of these EPA programs will allow them the Federal support that they need to continue the comprehensive, complex work that they do locally to restore and protect local aquatic ecosystems.

The health of our water resources supports the health of our communities by providing flood protection, storing clean water, and supporting our water-based economies.

Madam Speaker, I support the American Water Stewardship Act, as amended, and I urge my colleagues to do the same. I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. FIGURES. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

To date, the National Estuary Program covers 28 unique coastal habitats nationwide, and with passage of this, it would add another one. The Columbia River Basin is one of our largest watersheds. The Great Lakes are the largest system of fresh surface water in the world. The Long Island Sound provides benefits to millions of residents in New York and Connecticut, and it is habitat to more than 1,200 invertebrates, 170 species of fish, and dozens of species of migratory birds.

These water bodies are worth protecting, and there are major economic, recreational, and human health benefits to restoring them all.

Further, as the weather warms up, I know we are all looking forward to visiting our favorite beaches and coastal areas, which means that we need to know that our coastal waters are safe from contaminants. This bill pulls together reauthorizations of five critical programs, all of which are broadly supported by Members on both sides of the aisle.

The bill provides these programs with 5 additional years of flat funding and also ensures the GAO evaluates the continued success of each of EPA's geographic programs. The American Water Stewardship Act is just that: thoughtful stewardship of our most critical water resources.

Madam Speaker, I support this bill, as amended, and I urge my colleagues to do the same. I yield back the balance of my time.

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