Jeff Bingaman: “I rise today as an original co-sponsor of the Authorized Rural Water Projects Completion Act, introduced by my…”

“I rise today as an original co-sponsor of the Authorized Rural Water Projects Completion Act, introduced by my colleague, Senator Baucus. I am pleased to support this important legislation which would address the serious backlog in the construction of Bureau of Reclamation water projects that are intended to serve rural and tribal communities. All of these projects have already been studied and authorized by the Congress. However, the funding for constructing the projects has lagged, causing a delay in addressing the needs of rural and tribal communities to have potable water delivered for their use. In 1902, the Reclamation Fund was established by Congress, intended to be used as a funding source to construct water projects in the West. It is funded through a variety of receipts, including Federal mineral leasing receipts. However, the use of monies from the Reclamation Fund has been subject to appropriation, and therefore, large balances have remained in the Fund. The average annual surplus in the Reclamation Fund from FY 2005 through FY 2011 was $960 million. While these monies were intended to be used for water project construction, they have not always been appropriated when needed.…”