{"id":2953,"date":"2022-01-07T15:32:00","date_gmt":"2022-01-07T20:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/waterways.org\/?p=2953"},"modified":"2022-01-07T15:32:00","modified_gmt":"2022-01-07T20:32:00","slug":"nwc-federal-spotlight-jan-7-2022-edition-latest-on-wrda-nwc-meetings-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/waterways.org\/wordpress2\/nwc-federal-spotlight-jan-7-2022-edition-latest-on-wrda-nwc-meetings-more\/","title":{"rendered":"NWC Federal Spotlight: Jan 7, 2022 edition: Latest on WRDA\/NWC Meetings\/More"},"content":{"rendered":"

NWC Federal Spotlight<\/strong><\/p>\n

January 7, 2022, Edition<\/p>\n

Happy New Year NWC members!<\/u><\/u><\/p>\n

<\/u> <\/u>We hope your holidays and new year was everything you had hoped and filled with joy, love and thankfulness. Below are a few updates about what is going on in DC and within NWC.<\/u><\/u><\/p>\n

<\/u>Congress returned this week for the 2022 session<\/b>. The Senate was back this week to work on nominations, although they started a day late due to the east coast snowstorm. Next week the House returns as well. Congress has a lot on their plate, including several issues that were punted from last year. But they have a limited amount of time to do it since it is an election year (the election is in a little over 300 days). According to Congressional calendars<\/a>, the Senate is expected to be in 171 days in 2022, including 146 before election day, over the course of 36 weeks. The House, on the other hand, has 21 voting weeks scheduled, with a total of 112 days in session. In the short-term, Congress may revisit President Biden\u2019s Build Back Better package which stalled before the holidays, address voting rights and potentially filibuster reform and finish FY 2022 appropriations. Additionally, Congressional leaders are hard at work on the 2022 Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). Both the House and Senate kick off hearings on WRDA next week (more on that below).<\/u><\/u><\/p>\n

<\/u>On the federal agency front, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) released a <\/b>new memo<\/b><\/a> yesterday on how USACE and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) evaluate the effects that existing structures have on endangered species. <\/b>While originally crafted for the Puget Sound region, the memo may have far-reaching implications for water and waterways infrastructure nationally. NWC is forming a small work group to dig into the potential implications of this memo\u2014if you are interested in serving on this group, please let Julie Ufner know.<\/u><\/u><\/u><\/i><\/p>\n

<\/u> <\/u>A bit of gossip on USACE\u2019s work plan for the November 2021 passed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA; P.L. 117-58) is expected to be released on January 18.<\/b> IIJA contained $17.1 billion in emergency appropriations to several USACE programs, including 68 percent for construction, 23 percent for operation and maintenance and five percent for Mississippi River and Tributaries.<\/u><\/u><\/p>\n

<\/u>On the status of NWC\u2019s 2022 Legislative Summit<\/b>, we are still working on assessing the best path forward and have tentatively blocked off the week of April 25. There is still a lot of uncertainty in our nation\u2019s capital about the state of meetings. For those of you planning to do earlier trips to visit with your members of Congress, please be aware that the official physician of the Capitol urged members earlier in the week to reduce in-person activities \u201cto the maximum extent possible,\u201d which includes staff telework. While the physician indicated that most covid-19 cases are mild, the office is taking this stance out of concern due to long-term COVID cases. Additionally, most of the Capitol complex is still restricted due to the events of Jan. 6, 2021. Moreover, while many federal agencies had indicated plans to bring employees back in early January, these plans have been delayed for at least a month or more.<\/u><\/u><\/p>\n

<\/u>Finally, please note that NWC has several NWC caucus meetings coming up in January, including one with a speaker from MARAD. Please refer below for more information.<\/u><\/u><\/p>\n

 <\/u><\/u>As always, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out.<\/u><\/u><\/p>\n

 <\/u><\/u>Best,<\/u><\/u><\/p>\n

Julie Ufner<\/u><\/u><\/p>\n

NWC President and CEO<\/p>\n

Capitol Hill Happenings<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

BUILD BACK BETTER. <\/b>Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) had intended to pass President Biden\u2019s $1.7 trillion Build Back Better plan, before the holidays but ran into a roadblock after Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV.) said he would vote against it as written. As a result, the bill has been temporarily delayed as Senate Democrats and the White House negotiate with Manchin. Since Congress is using the reconciliation process to pass BBB, they only need a simple majority. However, since the Senate is currently split 50-50, every vote is important. One of the outstanding sticking points is the child tax credit. One of the options is to scale back the bill or break the bill into pieces to move them individually.<\/u><\/u><\/p>\n

FY2022 APPROPRIATIONS.<\/b> Last year, Congress couldn\u2019t come to agreement on their FY2022 appropriations package, so they passed a continuing resolution to fund the federal government until Feb. 18 to give members time to come up with compromise language. These talks are still ongoing with no agreement. In the water and waterways space there are areas of contention for both the Interior and Energy and Water appropriations packages. On Interior, which funds EPA programs, Democrats want to block implementation of several Trump-era environmental provisions. On the Energy and Water language, there is disagreement on how Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund monies should be used. If Congressional leaders do not come to agreement by next month, there is already talk of another CR. This is problematic since federal agencies would be required to operate at FY2021 spending levels for the however long the CR lasts. Additionally, and concurrently, Congress will need to start conversations on FY2023 which will start on October 1, 2022.<\/u><\/u><\/p>\n

<\/u>2022 WATER RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT ACT. <\/b>Focus on the next WRDA is heating up on Capitol Hill with two hearings scheduled in both the House and Senate next week. The hearings will feature Mr. Michael Connor<\/b>, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works of the Department of the Army and Lieutenant General Scott A. Spellmon<\/b>, the Chief of Engineers and Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.   Connor and Spellman will focus on administration WRDA 2022 priorities, as well as WRDA oversight for projects, policies and procedures.  Since last fall, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has been collecting \u201clegislative text, agency technical assistance or requested report language\u201d from Senators. This process closed in mid-December. The House is expected to open their member-only portal early this year. Both chambers would like to have bills done by this summer with a potential compromise bill by the fall. NWC, through our Legislative Policy Committee, has been hard at work on developing WRDA 2022 asks. More information on the hearings is below.<\/u><\/u><\/p>\n

<\/u>NWC is working with their Legislative Policy Committee to develop a list of WRDA 2022 priorities for Senate and House consideration.<\/u><\/u><\/p>\n

<\/u>Upcoming Capitol Hill hearings of interest:<\/u><\/u><\/b><\/p>\n