The American Soybean Association welcomed today’s passage by the Senate of the conference report of the Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA). The report, which passed the House overwhelmingly earlier in the week, contains several of ASA’s key policy priorities.

“The Senate’s passage of the waterways bill conference report today is another critical step toward ensuring a critical component of the soybean supply chain will receive the attention and upkeep it needs to keep our products moving,” said ASA President and Iowa farmer Ray Gaesser. “Reliable waterways help take our soybeans from major growing regions to domestic processors and major exporting terminals, then on to valuable trading partners around the world. The efficiency of that system gives us a significant advantage over other soybean-producing nations, and is a huge part of why soybeans lead the nation in agricultural exports. Soybean farmers appreciate the work of Chairwoman Boxer and Ranking Member Vitter in helping to craft and pass legislation that will give our waterways infrastructure network the attention it needs.”

Included in the conference report are ASA-supported provisions that will free up significant funding within the Inland Waterways Trust Fund for additional waterways infrastructure projects; increase the level of Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund dollars that will be spent on port maintenance and dredging; streamline the Army Corps of Engineers’ project review process; increase Corps flexibility to maintain navigation during low water events; and promote the use of alternative financing and public-private partnerships to fund waterways infrastructure.