Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On The Need For The Senate To Act On The Bipartisan House-Passed Water Resources Development Act And Economic Development Administration Reauthorization Package

Washington, D.C. – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor on the 2024 Water Resources Development Act and the Economic Development Administration Reauthorization package, stating that he hopes the Senate can act on these bipartisan bills as soon as possible. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

Last night, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the 2024 Water Resources Development Act – named this year in honor of our dear retiring friend, Senator Carper who has been a champion of this bill for so long. WRDA is one of Congress’s most important bills for water infrastructure projects carried out by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The bill passed with resounding bipartisan support, 399-18 in the House, with all Democrats in favor.

This year’s bill also includes a reauthorization of the Economic Development Administration and several regional commissions, making critical investments in infrastructure, workforce, and supply chains that will help the U.S. out-compete the rest of the world. This bipartisan bill passed out of the EPW Committee earlier this year with unanimous support.

The Senate is now working on a path to get WRDA and the EDA package cleared through the chamber. It is my hope that we can act on these bipartisan bills as soon as possible. 

Reauthorizing WRDA opens the floodgates to authorize all sorts of water-related projects vital for our economy. It helps improve our ports and inland waterways. It helps communities protect against flood damage. It safeguards our delicate ecosystems. And it enhances access to public water. WRDA is also critical for New York, where it improves, among other things, shoreline resiliency and flood protections from the Great Lakes all the way to New York City.

And the EDA authorization part of the bill will also direct more federal investment to our distressed regions, and help them rebuild from economic hardship and from disasters.

WRDA and EDA are examples – great examples – of bipartisanship in action. So, I hope we can reach agreement to get these important bills done as soon as we can.

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