The U.S. Senate passed the
Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act of 2021, legislation to make federal investments to aging drinking and wastewater systems and strengthen the nation’s water infrastructure. The measure, passed with wide bipartisan support, includes reauthorization of a program U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR) crafted to help rural and underserved communities access funding for water infrastructure projects.
“Republicans and Democrats agree that our drinking water and wastewater systems are in dire need of repair and modernization. This bill builds on that consensus and will create opportunities for communities in Arkansas and nationwide to make needed investments so that we ensure access to clean, reliable water systems is within reach,”
For The Intelligencer
WASHINGTON While negotiations continue between U.S. Senate Republicans, Democrats, and the White House on an infrastructure package, lawmakers got a head start on key drinking water and wastewater legislation that could bode well for future discussions.
U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., announced the passage Thursday of S.914, the Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act of 2021. The bill passed 89-2, with only Republican U.S. Senators Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Ted Cruz, R-Texas, voting against it.
The bill was a project of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, where Capito is the ranking Republican members. The bill had early bipartisan support in committee, with Capito co-writing the bill with Senators Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., Ben Cardin, D-Md., Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., Tom Carper, D-Del., and Kevin Cramer, R-N.D.
sadams@newsandsentinel.com
U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito sits for an interview Wednesday in her office on Capitol Hill. (Photo by Steven Allen Adams)
WASHINGTON, D.C. While negotiations continue between U.S. Senate Republicans, Democrats, and the White House on an infrastructure package, lawmakers got a head start on a key drinking water and wastewater package that could bode well for future discussions.
U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., announced the passage Thursday of S.914, the Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act of 2021. The bill passed 89-2, with only Republican U.S. Senators Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Ted Cruz, R-Texas, voting against it.
The Associated Press
ap photo
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., arrives to the chamber ahead of President Joe Biden speaking to a joint session of Congress, Wednesday, in the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington.
WASHINGTON Rarely has a routine water resources bill generated so much political buzz, but as senators hoisted the measure to passage Thursday the bipartisan infrastructure legislation served as a potential template for building consensus around President Joe Biden’s ambitious American Jobs Plan.
The Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act of 2021 authorizes about $35 billion over five years to improve leaky pipes and upgrade facilities, and is widely supported by lawmakers and their states back home. This time, though, it could be so much more a building block in Biden’s broader $2.3 trillion proposal to invest in roads, bridges and other infrastructure.