House Approves Appropriations Bill

On Friday July 17 the House of Representatives approved HR 3183 the Energy and Water Appropriations bill by a vote of 320-97. The $33.3 billion fiscal year 2010 spending bill funds the Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works program.

The House rejected the Administration’s proposed lockage fee to replace the current fuel tax to fund the Inland Waterways Trust Fund stating that “None of the funds in this Act or previous Acts making funds available for Energy and Water Development shall be used to award any continuing contract that commits additional funding from the Inland Waterways Trust Fund unless or until such time that a long-term mechanism to enhance revenues in the Fund sufficient to meet the cost-sharing authorized in the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 (Public Law 99–662) is enacted.”