U.S. Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), top Republican on the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, today made the following statement regarding S.601, the Water Resources Development Act of 2013 (WRDA), which is expected to be on the Senate floor next week. Vitter and EPW Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) are the lead sponsors of the legislation.

"This WRDA bill brings major changes and reforms to the Corps of Engineers that will better protect folks from flooding and jumpstart projects to increase commerce," said Vitter. "I'm looking forward to getting this major bipartisan legislation to the floor."

S. 601 was unanimously approved by the EPW Committee in late March. It provides critical flood protection for communities across the country, maintains the flow of commerce by improving and updating the nation's water infrastructure. It also includes project acceleration provisions that ensures important water infrastructure projects are processed in an efficient manner. The legislation is estimated to create up to an estimated 500,000 new jobs.

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