In particular I would like to recognize the efforts of Senator Warner, the sponsor of this year's bill, along with Senator Chafee and Senator Baucus who worked diligently for final passage of this bill in the 105th Congress. I am pleased to join them this year as an original cosponsor of S. 507.
As S. 507 is almost identical to S. 2131 passed unanimously during the 105th Congress prior to my arrival in the Senate, I have asked to bypass the subcommittee level. I am hopeful that this will enable us to move to markup shortly.
I join with my colleagues in the belief that it is important that we continue to enact the Water Resources Development Act every two years without lapse to ensure that our nation's infrastructure is maintained and constructed in a timely manner.
This bill represents a bipartisan approach with the Administration, particularly the Army Corps of Engineers and the office of the Assistant Secretary of Army for Civil Works, to ensure that the Nation's largest water resources program is effective and responsive to current and future needs. These projects have been reviewed to ensure that they are both economically justifiable and environmentally sound. Most importantly, these projects ensure improvements to the rivers and harbors of the United States.
I am also pleased that the bill, under Section 224, provides for a Great Lakes Basin Program. This section directs the Corps to develop a strategic plan for programs within the Great Lakes basin. Further, it will provide a means for assessing the ability of Corps projects and programs to meet regional water resources needs.
This plan should facilitate the integration of programs and projects with common objectives and resolution to those with conflicting objectives and consequences. Under Section 224, the Corps will develop an inventory of existing physical and biological data relevant to the Great Lakes biohydrological system, including groundwater and surface water hydrology, river flows, meteorological projections, and biological elements. The bill also contains language under this section which will direct the Corps to conduct an economic study of the benefits from recreational activities at Federal navigational projects in the Great Lakes. This study will provide data necessary for states to prioritize resources for recreational infrastructure and provide a more complete picture of the economic value of Federal navigation projects in the Great Lakes.
More importantly, the Great Lakes Basin Program will enable Congress to hold the Corps accountable to its promises to sustain Great Lakes programs and projects under the recent agency reorganization structure.
I look forward to the testimony of Secretary Westphal, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works on the merits of this most important legislation.