Senate Approves Spending, WRDA Bills

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The Senate voted late Friday night to approve a must-pass spending bill, ending the threat of a short-term government shutdown. Meanwhile, the Senate early Saturday cleared a water resources measure. Both bills are headed to President Barack Obama who will sign them into law.

The 63-to-36 vote to approve the year-end spending legislation came less than an hour before the midnight deadline. President Barack Obama early Saturday signed into law the 70-page continuing resolution (CR) that will extend government funding until April 28. Twenty-two Democrats and one independent who generally votes with Democrats, Angus King of Maine, backed the CR. Thirteen Republicans opposed it, including Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who sharply criticized the defense spending level as inadequate. The CR will fund the government at the Fiscal 2017 cap of $1.07 trillion. It was passed by the House on Thursday on an overwhelming 326-96 vote.

Senate Democrats initially threatened a short government shutdown over health-care benefits for coal miners but later backed off. Red-state Democrats up for reelection in 2018 forced the showdown and late-night vote to insist on health-care benefits for retired coal miners and requiring the use of American steel in infrastructure projects. Democrats said they would continue to press these issues when Congress returns early next year.

Senate clears WRDA bill with Flint aid as measure heads to White House. Congress completed action early Saturday on a water resources bill that would authorize nearly $11.7 billion for water infrastructure projects and $170 million to help Flint, Michigan, repair its lead-tainted drinking water system. Senate passage came after Democrats backed down on demands that the bill be changed to expand a preference for American-made iron and steel. The Senate voted 78-21 to send the bill, S 612, the Water Resources Development Act, or WRDA, to President Barack Obama for his signature.

Another issue concerned California, where one of the state’s senators, both of whom are Democrats, disagreed with each other about the bill’s response to the state’s drought. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) negotiated the provision that would allow more water to be moved from the northern part of their state to the drought-parched Central Valley. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), making a last environmental stand before she retires from the Senate, opposed that provision, calling it backroom deal that would erode the Endangered Species Act.

House speaker comments. ‘We are fulfilling our commitment to help the people of Flint and communities affected by contaminated drinking water. In addition, we are taking steps to deliver much-needed water relief to Californians, who are experiencing their worst drought in a century,” Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said in a statement after House passage of the bill on Thursday.

Construction companies, equipment manufacturers and shipping companies stand to benefit from the measure, which President Obama is expected to sign into law. Deepening shipping channels would benefit businesses that use inland waterway transportation, including agricultural producers, energy companies and retail groups, because dredging would reduce shipping delays and increase shipping capacity.

Harbor maintenance projects and additional dredging could benefit shipping companies, while construction and materials companies could benefit from new construction projects and additional project financing options.

NOTE: This column is copyrighted material; therefore reproduction or retransmission is prohibited under U.S. copyright laws.