Thursday, September 28, 2006

Time runs out before Congress adjourns, Conferees vow to complete WRDA bill in November.

WASHINGTON, DC - Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Chairman of the Environment & Public Works Committee and Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.), Chairman of the subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure, together with U.S. Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and U.S. Rep. John J. Duncan, Jr. (R-TN), Chairman of the Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee, released a joint statement today regarding WRDA negotiations. With time running out before Congress adjourns this week, and a few remaining issues unresolved, conferees will return in November ready to pass WRDA .

Senator Inhofe:

"Despite significant progress made and the hard work by all involved, time simply ran out to pass a bill by the end of September. Everyone involved knew we faced a limited time frame and worked tirelessly to pass WRDA before the end of the month, but a few issues just could not be resolved in time. I look forward to returning in November to work with my colleagues to pass WRDA as soon as possible. A WRDA bill is long overdue and I have every intention of completing the bill this year."

Senator Bond:

“Both members and staff on the conference committee have worked very hard to accomplish a difficult task. We have made tremendous progress, we just need a little more time. During the October recess we will continue to work towards completion and I hope to get this much needed and long overdue bill passed in November.”

Congressman Young:

"We made a great deal of progress and there was a lot of good faith compromise and negotiation involved. We just ran out of time. But we're all committed to completing a comprehensive WRDA bill when we return after the November elections. In the meantime, we've instructed our staffs to continue to meet throughout the recess to address many of the unresolved issues."

Congressman Duncan:

"It is better to do a conference bill well than to do it quickly. This bill will authorize projects that are investments in America. These are navigation projects that keep our ports and waterways open to commercial traffic, flood damage reduction projects that protect our homes and businesses, and environmental restoration projects that enhance our quality of life."

###