Today, the Senate passed a legislative package containing several provisions that U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) secured to bolster California’s water infrastructure and promote economic development. The package includes the Thomas R. Carper Water Resources Development Act of 2024 (WRDA), the Economic Development Reauthorization Act of 2024, and a series of bills to strengthen the General Services Administration (GSA). The conferenced legislation previously passed the House of Representatives and now heads to President Biden’s desk to be signed into law.
“This legislative package delivers key California priorities I fought for to strengthen our disaster response and create good jobs,” said Senator Padilla. “The provisions I secured will bolster California’s water infrastructure and flood control efforts in the face of increasingly extreme weather. Additionally, my efforts to strengthen EDA programs will build more inclusive and efficient economic growth by better supporting under-resourced communities across the country.”
The legislation includes WRDA provisions Padilla secured to address the Tijuana River transboundary sewage crisis, to invest in salmon recovery and habitat restoration around the Sacramento River Basin, and to provide the Army Corps of Civil Engineers with enhanced drought authorities. The bill also reauthorizes the National Dam Safety Program through 2028.
The package includes three bills that Padilla led as part of the Economic Development Administration (EDA) reauthorization. It includes the bipartisan Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience Act to bolster economic assistance for disaster victims and the Economic Empowerment Through Predevelopment Act to make under-resourced communities more competitive in the federal and state grant procurement process. The bill also includes Padilla’s legislation to drive local growth through innovation and entrepreneurship, the University Centers for Growth, Development, and Prosperity (GDP) Act.
Water Resources Development Act
Padilla secured several key California priorities and authorizations in WRDA to help address ongoing climate impacts in the state. The bill authorizes $200 million for the Tijuana River Valley Watershed and San Diego County to help address the ongoing transboundary sewage crisis through stormwater conveyance, environmental and ecosystem restoration, and water quality protection projects. Additionally, the bill includes $20 million to restore ecosystems and bolster salmon recovery, and it directs a new study to examine ways to modify the existing Sacramento River levee system for floodplain management and ecosystem restoration.
WRDA also includes provisions from the Drought Resilient Infrastructure Act that Padilla introduced earlier this year to expand water conservation efforts and strengthen atmospheric river forecasting for Western states prone to drought. Padilla also successfully pushed for the inclusion of a study on the impact of extreme weather on Army Corps dams and levees.
National Dam Safety Program
WRDA includes Padilla’s bipartisan legislation, co-led by Senator Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), to reauthorize the National Dam Safety Program through 2028. The National Dam Safety Program is the primary source of federal support for state-level dam safety programs, but funding for the program expired September 30, 2023, leaving thousands of high-risk dams across the country vulnerable to failure.
Led by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the program supports state programs with resources for training, staffing needs, emergency planning, and dam inspection and monitoring activities. The United States is home to roughly 92,000 dams, including nearly 6,000 non-federal high-hazard potential dams, many of which are in small or rural communities that cannot afford repairs.
Federal assistance through the National Dam Safety Program plays a critical role in safeguarding downstream communities from the impacts of dam failure, helping to reduce overall dam operating costs and providing resources for training, staffing needs, emergency planning, and dam inspection and monitoring activities.
Economic Development Administration Reauthorization
This bipartisan legislation ill reauthorize EDA for the first time in nearly 20 years and includes three bills Padilla led. His Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience Act, co-led by Senator John Boozman (R-Ark.), will formalize EDA’s role in supporting short- and long-term economic recovery efforts in communities impacted by natural disasters. The Economic Empowerment Through Predevelopment Act, which Padilla led alongside Senator Bill Cassidy (R-La.) as well as Representatives Troy Carter (D-La.-02) and Garret Graves (R-La.-06), will authorize EDA to make grants or cooperative agreements for early-stage project development activities to support communities that otherwise may be unable to compete for larger state and federal grants. Additionally, Padilla’s University Centers for Growth Development and Prosperity (GDP) Act, co-led by Representative Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.-33), will codify the EDA program that leverages assets of higher-learning institutions to strengthen regional economic growth by promoting innovation, entrepreneurship, and job creation.
The Economic Development Reauthorization Act includes additional provisions championed by Padilla, such as the establishment of an Office of Tribal Economic Development to ensure proper representation and dedicated assistance for tribal communities, the reauthorization of the Southwest Border Regional Commission to foster economic development and basic infrastructure needs in disadvantaged border communities, and support for water workforce development.
