After more than six years of delays, House and Senate negotiators have reached a deal on a massive bill authorizing about $21 billion for more than 900 Corps of Engineers projects and requiring more outside reviews of work the Corps plans to do. House and Senate conferees filed the final, 828-page Water Resources Development Act package on July 31. A House floor vote was expected within two days, but it was unclear whether the Senate would act before the August recess.
House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar (D–Minn.) says the measure deals with "six and a half years of stored–up projects and policy issues." The 940 projects and studies include authorizations for some 400 new projects.