Max Baucus: “I join my chairman, Senator Chafee, in support of the legislation before us today, S. 507, the Water Resources…”

“I join my chairman, Senator Chafee, in support of the legislation before us today, S. 507, the Water Resources Development Act of 1999. I also want to recognize the new Chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee, Senator Voinovich, for his hard work on this bill, along with last year's Chairman, Senator Warner. As we all know, the Water Resources Development Act of 1998 passed this chamber last year, but was never enacted. It is our hope that early action in this session will help us wrap up the unfinished business from the 105th Congress. It will also set us on course to develop a Water Resources Development Act for 2000. S. 507 authorizes more than 40 projects for flood control, navigation, shore protection, environmental restoration, water supply storage and recreation. Twenty-seven projects are modified and the Corps is directed to conduct 43 separate studies throughout the Nation. The projects have the support of a local sponsor willing to share the cost of the project. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the total Federal cost of this bill will be $2.3 billion over the next 10 years. Many of the projects contained in this bill are necessary to protect the nation's shorelines, along oceans, lakes and rivers. Several of the navigation projects need timely authorization in order to keep our ports competitive in the global marketplace.”