Reauthorization of 2024 WRDA

The U.S. House Transportation & Infrastructure Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment is scheduled to conduct a hearing soon to focus on evaluating past iterations of the “Water Resources Development Act” (WRDA) and determine needs in future legislation. The goal of the hearing will be to draft and pass the next version of WRDA in this Congress. The current version of WRDA expires in September 2024. Reauthorizing WRDA aligns with one of the top legislative priorities for NASBP and will be included as a message point for attendees to deliver at the 2024 Legislative Fly-in. Recently, legislation was introduced in the Senate, as S.2928, the “Water Infrastructure Subcontractor and Taxpayer Protection Act,” which amends the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) to ensure performance and payment protections are in place on WIFIA-funded projects and for WIFIA public-private project (P3) agreements. S.2928 provides essential protections for workers, suppliers, and contractors by requiring payment protection on federally financed infrastructure projects receiving WIFIA assistance, including P3s. Similar legislation, H.R. 1740, was introduced earlier in House this Congress.

2024 Legislative Fly-in

Please mark your calendar for February 28 and 29 to attend the 2024 Legislative Fly-in where you can advocate for the inclusion of S.2928/H.R. 1740 in the 2024 WRDA. The Fly-in begins in earnest on February 28 with what we’ve coined as the “Washington Program,” which includes political observations from Amy Walter, Editor-in-Chief of the Cook Political Report, and a surety executives panel discussion regarding current surety market conditions and issues. The surety panel will be moderated by NASBP Third Vice President Monica Donatelli, and the panelists will include Mike Ito of Amerisure, Rick Ciullo of The Hartford, and Bob Murray of Zurich. February 29 is dedicated entirely to Capitol Hill appointments. The Fly-in host hotel, The Hilton Washington, DC, Capitol Hill, is just a few blocks from the U.S. Capitol.

There will be no registration fees to attend, making it the perfect time to join your NASBP colleagues in the effort to ensure federal policymakers on Capitol Hill understand the significant role bonds play to protect taxpayer funds and advance public works infrastructure projects such as WRDA. NASBP will provide more details about registration in the upcoming months. In the meantime, please remember to save the date!