Scott Secures Two Provisions in Key Infrastructure Legislation

WASHINGTON—Today, U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) released the following statement upon the passage of the bipartisan America’s Water Infrastructure Act, which includes two key provisions secured by Senator Scott. 

“This overwhelmingly bipartisan bill, passed 99-1, is a comprehensive package of common-sense reforms that will authorize the Army Corps to construct, expedite, and modify more than 100 water resource projects across all 50 states. I am proud to have secured two provisions in this landmark bill to ensure that while we modernize and secure our water infrastructure, South Carolinian taxpayers are kept top of mind.”

The two Scott provisions in the America’s Water Infrastructure Act are: 

1. A provision that begins the process of updating and modernizing the benefit-cost analysis used by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to evaluate the economic benefits and cost apportionment of water resource projects. The current benefit-cost analysis is outdated and inconsistent, and does not properly take into account today’s modern construction and planning methods. Changes to the formula will help lead to more accurate project planning, quicker completion dates, and reduced costs for taxpayers.
2. A second provision that helps to ensure that the federal government fully honors its share of the costs for water resources projects and bolsters the reimbursement provisions included in the recently passed Energy and Water appropriations bill.

Together, these measures will help ensure that a non-federal partner, for example the state of South Carolina, is reimbursed when it covers the federal costs of a project when federal dollars have not yet been appropriated. By bolstering the accountability and reliability of our federal cost-share agreements, we can mitigate risks and further incentivize critical investments into our nation’s water infrastructure. The Port of Charleston deepening project is an outstanding example of the kind of partnerships and improvements we want to continue seeing in the future.

###