Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2013

Floor Speech

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Mr. WEBSTER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings), my good friend and colleague, pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only.

GENERAL LEAVE

Mr. WEBSTER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Florida?

There was no objection.

Mr. WEBSTER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this rule and the underlying bill.

House Resolution 385 provides a structured rule for consideration of H.R. 3080, the Water Resources Reform and Development Act, the first WRRDA bill since 2007. The rule makes 24 amendments submitted to the Rules Committee in order, half of which are sponsored by my colleagues across the aisle, and it provides for robust debate in the House of Representatives.

The underlying bill was marked up by the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, which reported the bill favorably with unanimous bipartisan support. The bill before us today garnered that support because of four reasons: this bill reforms the Federal bureaucracy; this bill is fiscally responsible; this bill strengthens accountability; and this bill creates jobs.

Mr. Speaker, talk to anyone around the country that relies on the Army Corps of Engineers; talk with anyone that depends on our water infrastructure, water resources and so forth; talk to anyone who wants to develop a new water resource infrastructure; talk to anyone who ships in or out of our harbors or ports. Maybe you have the opportunity to talk with our shipping companies, or maybe with the women and men who work on our tugboats and barges, or maybe with the farmer who needs to get his corn to the right markets, or maybe the manufacturer who needs to ship her product or his product to a foreign customer, or maybe the port director who is trying to get America prepared for the economic opportunities that will come with the larger ships coming through the Panama Canal. Mr. Speaker, if my colleagues spoke with these men and women, they would hear the same refrain: our bureaucracy delays American investment; our bureaucracy costs American jobs; and our bureaucracy helps America's foreign competitors.

The approval process of our critical water infrastructure takes years too long, and sometimes well over a decade. One project that my friend from Florida is familiar with is a project in Port Everglades, which has been studied for nearly two decades. Some bureaucrats have spent their entire career studying this one project. The study of the project of Port Everglades is a prime example of Washington bureaucracy crushing America's jobs and America's future.

This bill before us today does away with these delays: it sets hard deadlines on the time and cost of the studies; it consolidates or eliminates duplicative studies; it requires concurrent project review by multiple agencies; and it puts our projects on a path to construction.

Mr. Speaker, this bill reforms Federal bureaucracy, but it also is fiscally responsible. We all know that our Nation spends too much, our Nation oftentimes spends money haphazardly without a plan and without restraint. This bill does not.

Chairman Shuster is committed to restraining spending and is committed to managing American taxpayer dollars wisely. This bill is proof of that. This bill restrains spending. I commend Chairman Shuster and Ranking Member Rahall for actually making the tough choices necessary to get our budget in order.

Mr. Speaker, when was the last time an infrastructure bill was brought to the House floor and it cut more than it spent? The bill before us today does just that: it deauthorizes $12 billion of old, inactive projects; it pays for the new projects by canceling old projects; and it sunsets the construction of new projects in order to prevent future backlogs. Mr. Speaker, this bill reforms Federal bureaucracy, is fiscally responsible, and it strengthens accountability.

Many of our constituents, when they hear us talk about infrastructure, remember the days of pork barrel spending. Many of our colleagues might remember the 1939 movie about a newly appointed Senator who goes to Washington running head-on into a political machine built on earmarks and pork barrel spending. ``Mr. Smith Goes to Washington'' is a dramatic rendering of how most infrastructure bills were put together in the past. In fact, the bill that was debated in the movie was a water resource bill, and the filibuster was over an earmark in that bill. This bill ends that earmark process.

The bill before us today strengthens accountability for the American people. Gone are the days of inserting earmarks at the last minute. Gone are the days of creating new pet projects. Gone are the days of wasting taxpayer money on pork barrel spending. Mr. Speaker, this bill contains no earmarks.

It also establishes a new, transparent process for future bills that will ensure that taxpayer dollars are spent on necessary projects. It will prioritize our spending and provide strong Congressional oversight. This bill reforms Federal bureaucracy, is fiscally responsible, strengthens accountability, and creates jobs.

The key to creating American jobs is expanding our economy. American producers must be able to get their products to the world market. This push to sell to the world is a high-stakes competition that America must win. Our farmers are being pressured by our neighbors in South America. Our manufacturers are being pressured by both European and Asian countries. Our energy producers are being pressured by many foreign countries in all corners of the globe. Investing in our infrastructure will boost trade, increase American competitiveness, and position our country for economic growth. These advancements will put America to work.

While construction workers will immediately be put to work on these projects, every single American job that depends on our transportation infrastructure will benefit from this bill. Our economy will grow, our producers will compete with the world, and American jobs will be created.

Mr. Speaker, it is easy to see why this bill garnered unanimous bipartisan support from the members of the committee and why it deserves to be passed here. This bill reforms Federal bureaucracy; this bill is fiscally responsible; this bill strengthens accountability; and this bill creates jobs.

For these reasons, Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the rule and the underlying bill. Chairman Shuster, Ranking Member Rahall, and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure have provided us with a unanimously supported bipartisan bill that will move our Nation forward.

I encourage my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this rule and ``yes'' on the underlying bill.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. WEBSTER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, this rule provides for ample and open debate and makes in order amendments from both sides of the aisle. Further, it advances a bill that was reported out of the committee with unanimous bipartisan support.

This bill is good for American workers, is good for American producers, and is good for American shippers. As my friend from Florida (Mr. Hastings) knows, this bill is also good for the State of Florida.

Florida has 18 public seaports. These seaports are critical components to our economy. They are responsible for supporting more than half a million Florida jobs and for generating $66 billion in total economic value. The activity of these seaports contributed $1.7 billion to Florida's State and local budgets. Furthermore, this bill advances key ecosystem restoration projects in the Florida Everglades and supports the economic development that the Everglades provides in our State.

I thank Chairman Shuster for working with me and other Florida Members to ensure that the State is well positioned to move forward. Chairman Shuster and Ranking Member Rahall and my colleagues on the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure have given us a bipartisan product that reforms the Federal bureaucracy, is fiscally responsible, strengthens accountability, and creates jobs.

Mr. Speaker, this is a good bill. I say to my colleagues in the House, if you support reforming the Federal bureaucracy, if you are looking to manage our spending, if you are looking to increase transparency while investing in our infrastructure, and if you are looking to create American jobs, support this bill. Vote for the rule. Vote for the bill. Move the country forward.

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