Over the past weeks, House and Senate committees considered and approved several pieces of legislation important to the ready mixed concrete industry:
House Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) - On May 23, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved H.R. 8, the Water Resources Development Act of 2018. This legislation authorizes the major infrastructure projects related to the nation’s water resources. In addition to facilitating trade and the transport of goods and raw material, WRDA projects are concrete intensive. The full House is expected to consider WRDA this week. If the House and Senate both pass their respective WRDA bills, they will have a conference committee to hammer out differences.
Senate Water Resources and Development Act (WRDA) - On May 22, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works approved S. 2800, the Senate’s version of WRDA. Like the House version of the bill, the Senate WRDA will authorize major water infrastructure projects needed to keep America competitive and to facilitate the movement of goods. The Senate WRDA includes language that encourages the use of resilient construction techniques. In collaboration with other members of the North American Concrete Alliance (NACA), NRMCA sent a letter of support for S. 2800 and will continue to advocate for its swift passage.
House Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) Appropriations - On May 23, the House Appropriations Committee passed the fiscal year 2019 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development funding bill. The bill funds Department of Transportation at $27.8 billion, an increase over FY2018, and funds the Federal Aviation Administration at $17.7 billion. The bill includes $750 million for BUILD (formerly TIGER) grants for state transportation projects and allows $46 billion to be spent from the Highway Trust Fund.
Senate THUD Appropriations - On June 5, The Senate Appropriations Committee passed its THUD appropriations, closely matching the House spending levels. The Senate rules allow the committee to pass its bill without releasing text. More details to come.
House Agriculture Appropriations - In a win for NRMCA and Stop the TIA Coalition members, there is no mention of or direction to implement a Tall Wood Building Prize Competition that proponents of the Timber Innovation Act are advocating.
For more information, contact Andrew Tyrrell at atyrrell@nrmca.org.
National Ready Mixed Concrete Association