Today,
the U.S. House of Representatives passed six bills from the Committee
on Transportation
and Infrastructure, including bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the
Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) National Estuary Program, and
support restoration efforts in the Chesapeake Bay, the Great Lakes, and
the Lake Pontchartrain Basin.
“The
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has a long history of
bipartisanship and I’m glad to see that pay off today with the unanimous
House passage of six critical pieces of legislation,” Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-OR) said.
“In particular, I applaud Congressman Malinowski for his leadership on
the Protect and Restore America's Estuaries
Act. This important legislation authorizes funding for estuary
restoration across the country including the Lower Columbia Estuary in
my home state of Oregon. In addition, the other bills passed today will
help restore and revitalize regional water bodies
across the country. I am thankful to Ranking Member Graves and Members
of the Committee for their partnership as we all work to improve these
significant and diverse ecosystems.”
“These
bipartisan measures will help improve water quality for economically
vital watersheds across the country, and I want to thank the
bills’ many cosponsors and Transportation Committee leaders for working
to move these bills forward,”
said Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Ranking Member Sam Graves (R-MO).
"These
bipartisan solutions will revitalize some of our nation's most
important bodies of water, which are critically important to local
economies, water supplies, and our ecosystem as a whole. Managing and
protecting our precious water resources is not a challenge unique to my
home state of California, but one that many states are dealing with in
different ways. These measures will provide
the tools and assistance needed to meet the diverse needs of these
regional watersheds. I am proud to chair the Subcommittee of
jurisdiction over these environmental restoration programs and
initiatives, and I look forward to continuing to work in a bipartisan
manner to tackle the water challenges facing all of our communities,"
said Water Resources and Environment Chair Grace F. Napolitano (D-CA).
“The
programs these bills impact affect areas across the entire country, and
they’re important in upholding America’s reputation of having
some of the cleanest water and environment in the world. The National
Estuary Program provides vital support for watersheds and estuaries
around the country, and I look forward to passing even more significant
bipartisan legislation out of the Water Resources
and Environment Subcommittee,” said Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee Ranking Member Bruce Westerman (R-AR).
H.R. 4044, Protect and Restore America's Estuaries Act, as amended
H.R.
4044, introduced by Reps. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), Lizzie Fletcher
(D-TX), and Garret Graves (R-LA), reauthorizes EPA’s National Estuary
Program at $50 million per year from 2022-2026 to be distributed
evenly across each of the 28 estuaries within the program.
H.R. 1132, San Francisco Bay Restoration Act, as amended
H.R.
1132, introduced by Reps. Jackie Speier (D-CA), Nancy Pelosi (D-CA),
Jared Huffman (D-CA), Ro Khanna (D-CA), Jerry McNerney (D-CA), Eric
Swalwell (D-CA), John Garamendi (D-CA), Anna Eshoo (D-CA),
Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA), Mike Thompson (D-CA), and
Barbara Lee (D-CA), establishes a new regional program within EPA to
support restoration efforts in the San Francisco Bay, and authorizes $25
million annually for the next five years.
H.R. 2247, PUGET SOS Act, as amended
H.R.
2247, introduced by Reps. Denny Heck (D-WA) and Derek Kilmer (D-WA),
establishes a new regional program within EPA to support restoration
efforts in the Puget Sound, and authorizes
$50 million annually in Federal appropriations over the next five years
for restoration activities.
H.R. 1620, Chesapeake Bay Program Reauthorization Act, as amended
H.R.
1620, introduced by Reps. Elaine Luria (D-VA), Robert Wittman (R-VA),
Bobby Scott (D-VA), and John Sarbanes (D-MD), reauthorizes Federal
appropriations for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s
(EPA) Chesapeake Bay Program with funding increases over the next five
years.
H.R. 4031, Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act of 2019
H.R.
4031, introduced by Rep. David Joyce (R-OH) and 39 other Members in the
Great Lakes Region, reauthorizes EPA’s Great Lakes Restoration
Initiative with total appropriations of approximately $2.2
billion for the fiscal years 2022-2026.
H.R. 4275, To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to reauthorize the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Restoration Program, and
for other purposes, as amended
H.R.
4275, introduced by Reps. Garret Graves (R-LA) and Cedric Richmond
(D-LA), reauthorizes EPA’s Lake Pontchartrain Basin Restoration Program
for fiscal years 2021 through 2025,
continuing the previous Federal authorization of $20 million annually.
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