Labor Associations Push Support for WRDA-WRRDA Conference
The Senate Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), S. 601, and the sister House Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA), H.R. 3080, will modernize and preserve critical infrastructure, while ensuring retention of hundreds of thousands of jobs, a group of labor associations said in a letter submitted to Congress on Nov. 1. The House passed H.R. 3080 (here) on Oct. 23 with an overwhelming bipartisan vote, after the Senate passed its version of the bill, S. 601 (here), in May (see 13102428). The Senate on Nov. 4 appointed eight conferees.
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“As you work to reconcile the two bills into a final conference report, we wanted to flag one particular provision of the Senate passed legislation and respectfully ask for its inclusion in the House bill,” says the letter. “Section 2008 of S. 601 will assure the American people that in good times and bad -- including natural disasters -- our nation’s top critical infrastructures, including federally operated and owned water and navigational locks and dams, will continue to be controlled and operated daily by federal authorities.” Section 2008 of the Senate bill amends Section 314 of the Water Resources Development Act of 1990 that applies to operation and maintenance of navigation and hydroelectric facilities.
The letter was addressed to Congressmen Bill Shuster, R-Pa., Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., Bob Gibbs, R-Ohio, Tim Bishop, D-N.Y., along with Senators Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and David Vitter, R-La. The letter was sent by the American Federation of Government Employees, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers , International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, National Federation of Federal Employees and the AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department.