Washington, D.C. — The following are opening remarks, as prepared for delivery, from Ranking Member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Rick Larsen (D-WA) and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment Frederica Wilson (D-FL) during today’s hearing titled, “Water Resources Development Act of 2026: Stakeholder Priorities.”
Video of Ranking Members Wilson’s statements is and here.
More information on the hearing can be found here.
Ranking Member Larsen:
Thank you, Chairman Collins, for starting the development of a new Water Resources Development Act (WRDA).
In the Pacific Northwest and across the country, businesses and communities understand the critical importance of ports, harbors and inland waterways to keep the goods we rely on moving.
These critical investments are needed not only to sustain our current businesses, communities, and local economies, but also to prepare our region for anticipated growth in populations over the next few decades.
A recent Association of Washington Businesses report forecasts that the population of the state of Washington will grow to 10 million people by 2050, from about eight million today.
While recent federal and state efforts have helped address some of the critical infrastructure backlog, robust investment is needed to keep pace with forecast growth, to embrace emerging industries and to maintain the region’s quality of life.
The report identifies an estimated need for over $9 billion in critical port investment, $4 billion for fish habitat, and over $70 billion in water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure investments for just the State of Washington—showing the magnitude of the investment challenges ahead.
Since 2014, this Committee has addressed local water resource challenges through regular enactment of bipartisan WRDAs.
WRDAs support projects that address local water resource needs—such as maintaining levees and expanding port capacity—to create jobs in construction and support industries and businesses that benefit directly from Corps projects.
Regular, predictable enactment of WRDA bills also allows for the implementation of critical and timely policy reforms that improve the function and flexibility of the Corps to respond to local water resources challenges.
WRDAs are a great example of the strong bipartisan work this Committee can produce.
In WRDA 2024, this Committee successfully authorized the construction of 21 new projects covering every facet of the Corps’ missions, as well as 162 new feasibility studies for future water resource development projects.
WRDA 2024 also authorized or modified more than $5 billion in environmental infrastructure assistance for community driven projects, including $242 million for locally supported water and wastewater infrastructure projects in western Washington state.
These federal, state and local partnerships are critical to help address the growing water and wastewater infrastructure needs throughout the country.
WRDA 2026 is an opportunity to build on the bipartisan successes of the last few bills.
We can continue to advance efforts to expand America's navigational capacity and strengthen its supply chains through port, harbor and inland waterways development.
We can continue to work on job-creating investments that address the water resources challenges facing communities and support national, regional and local economies.
We can continue to help communities prepare to face the challenges posed by climate change, including extreme weather events and drought.
We can continue to give all communities access to the Corps’ technical and planning expertise, including Tribal, minority and disadvantaged communities.
Beyond the regular enactment of WRDAs, Congress also provides funding to the Corps for project planning, construction, operation and maintenance so communities can quickly benefit from water resources improvements.
The $17 billion downpayment made by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law was a great start, but Congress and the administration need to continue robust investment in our water infrastructure in the future.
Lastly, I have started to hear concerns from members on both sides of the aisle that recent changes to the communication policies of the Corps have led to delays and denials of sharing even the most basic information about Corps projects in members’ district.
As the Chairman knows, seamless communication between the Corps and members offices is essential for successful development and implementation of WRDA laws and projects.
I hope that these concerns can be quickly addressed.
I look forward to the continued partnership with Chairman Graves, Chairman Collins, and Ranking Member Wilson in developing a bipartisan WRDA 2026.
With that, I yield back.
Ranking Member Wilson:
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding today’s hearing.
Through biennial enactment of Water Resources Development Acts, this committee is addressing the water related needs of our states and local communities.
WRDAs are a shining example of how Congress can efficiently and effectively meet the bipartisan needs of our communities when we decide it is better to work together than apart.
Again, I look forward to continuing my partnership with you, with Chairman Graves and with Ranking Member Larsen to get this done.
Mr. Chairman, each of our communities’ experience unique water resources challenges. We seek to address these challenges through predictable enactment of WRDAs—providing the Corps with the tools necessary to address community needs.
As stressors or local priorities change over time, this Committee has stayed vigilant to ensure that the Corps has the authority and resources necessary to address local needs.
The history of Corps bears this out. The Corps’ civil works responsibility was initially focused primarily on navigation—developing the coastal and inland harbors necessary for the efficient movement of goods to our young nation.
That responsibility was later expanded to incorporate large-scale flood control, in part, due to widespread flooding along the Mississippi River that devastated communities and livelihoods.
More recently, as more communities realized the economic, environmental and public health benefits from restoring their environment, Congress expanded the Corps’ responsibility to include watershed and ecosystem restoration—the benefits that can be seen in the Florida Everglades, Coastal Louisiana, and the Great Lakes.
In fact, just last week, we celebrated the 25th anniversary of enactment of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan through WRDA 2000.
This decades-long partnership between the Corps, the state, and other non-federal partners shows how large-scale environmental restoration projects can have a tangible, dramatic, and lasting benefit to our communities, our economies, our human and environmental health, and our quality of life.
Lastly, in WRDA 2024, the Congress gave the Corps new direction to work with communities to support local efforts to enhance water supply, water conservation, and drought resiliency needs.
Mr. Chairman, as we develop a new WRDA bill for 2026, we need to build on the successes of the last few WRDA bills and the enhanced direction for the Corps to partner with communities of all types—large and small; urban, rural, and tribal; economically-well-off and communities that struggle to make ends meet—to address their local water resources challenges.
It is my hope that WRDA 2026 will continue to ensure that the next generation of flood control, navigation, environmental restoration, and water supply and conservation projects and studies are authorized and allowed to proceed.
We must continue to promote community resilience to the challenges faced by extreme weather events and changes to climatic conditions on the ground—whether there is too much water, including coastal and inland flooding events, or too little water, such as areas facing increased frequency of drought conditions.
And we must ensure that all communities are given the opportunity to work with the Corps to resolve their water resources challenges.
Finally, Mr. Chairman, we have started to hear concern from members, on both sides of the aisle, that recent changes in the communication policies of the Corps have led to delays and denials of sharing even the most basic information about Corps projects in members’ district.
As the Chairman knows, seamless communication between the Corps and members offices is essential for successful development and implementation of WRDA laws and projects.
I hope that these bureaucratic holdups can be quickly dispensed with, lest they cause challenges in this Committee completing its critical work to develop a new WRDA.
I look forward to working with you on this proposal, and on our continued partnership to develop another successful WRDA this Congress.
Let’s get to work, and I yield back.
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