Early work has begun in the House on a new Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), which would authorize new Corps of Engineers civil-works projects and mandate changes in Corps policies. No bill has been introduced, but lawmakers already have flooded the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee with hundreds of requests for projects in the new WRDA. Industry groups want to see the bill provide higher Corps spending, plus changes in policies and project cost shares.
Long lists of projects spread among many states and congressional districts have long been prime political engines for WRDAs. The last one, enacted in 2007 over a presidential veto, had $23.2 billion for more than 900 projects or studies.