In the House, a $12-billion-plus Water Resources Development Act sailed through the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on March 15. A floor vote may come by the Easter recess. In the Senate, the Environment and Public Works Committee expects to vote on its still-unveiled bill by the end of March.
“I think the prospects for congressional passage are pretty high,” says an industry source. “I have much greater doubts about what will happen when that bill gets submitted downtown” to the White House. The Bush administration has raised concerns about the costs of earlier WRDA bills and the new one promises to be no smaller. The House panel’s version totals $12 billion to $13 billion, says Chairman James Oberstar (D-Minn.). But there has not been a WRDA signed into law in more than six years. “This is pent-up demand,” he says. “This is urgent need.”