U.S. Senator David Vitter, the lead Senate Republican negotiator for the Water Resources Reform & Development Act (WRRDA), will attend the bill signing ceremony at the White House. President Obama will sign WRRDA, Vitter’s signature legislation, at 10:45 am ET today.
Vitter secured several provisions in the final bill being signed into law that directly benefit Louisiana including the following:
· Authorization for Morganza to the Gulf;
· Modification to the deepening authorization for the Port of Iberia;
· Coastal and ecosystem restoration through the authorization of six Louisiana Coastal Area projects;
· Critical reforms to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that expedite project delivery and penalize the Corps for missing deadlines;
· Authorization for the Corps to perform future levee lifts for the hurricane protection system;
· Increase in Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund expenditures, prioritization for funding for high-and medium-use ports, and an increase in the threshold for 100% Corps operations and management responsibility from 45-ft to 50-ft.
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Press Release, June 10, 2014