{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/release/sen-whitehouse-named-to-water-infrastructure-bill-conference-committee", "Sen. Whitehouse Named to Water Infrastructure Bill Conference Committee", "2013-11-05", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "RI", "Sheldon Whitehouse", "W000802", "www.whitehouse.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "11.05.13\n\t\t\t Sen. Whitehouse Named to Water Infrastructure Bill Conference Committee \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n        \n\t\t\t\t Legislation includes Whitehouse measure to create oceans endowment\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t Washington, DC \u2013 U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) today was appointed as a member of the joint House-Senate conference committee convened to merge the versions of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2013 passed by the two chambers.\u00a0 The legislation authorizes and reforms civil works programs and policies for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.\u00a0 The Senate-passed bill includes an amendment authored by Whitehouse to establish a National Endowment for the Oceans, Coasts, and Great Lakes.\r\n\u201cAs a member of this conference committee, I\u2019ll be working to improve the ability of the Army Corps to carry out its mission in Rhode Island and across the country,\u201d said Whitehouse.\u00a0 \u201cMy other priority will be the National Endowment for the Oceans, which passed the Senate with strong bipartisan support.\u00a0 The Endowment would support ocean and coastal research and restoration projects critical to fisheries, tourism, and recreation \u2013 bolstering Rhode Island\u2019s and our nation\u2019s coastal economies and ecosystems.\u201d\r\nThe Water Resources Development Act authorizes the Army Corps to assist with flood protection, ecosystem restoration, and navigation and facilitate the flow of commerce.\u00a0 The bill is expected to support up to 500,000 jobs.\u00a0\r\nWhen funded, the National Endowment for the Oceans would make grants available to coastal and Great Lakes states, local governments, academic institutions, and nonprofit organizations.\u00a0 The grants would support research, restoration, and conservation efforts, including projects to restore habitat, manage fisheries, plan for sustainable coastal development, enhance ocean monitoring and research activities, acquire coastal properties for preservation and recreation, and relocate critical coastal infrastructure.\r\nOther Senate members of the conference committee are Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Max Baucus (D-MT), Thomas Carper (D-DE), Ben Cardin (D-MD), David Vitter (R-LA), John Barrasso (R-WY), and James Inhofe (R-OK).\u00a0 The conference committee is expected to begin meeting later this year.\r\n###\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\t\tPrint\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tEmail\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTweet\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t \n\t\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n    \n\t\n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tNext Article\n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/release/sen-whitehouse-named-to-water-infrastructure-bill-conference-committee"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9491979144513607, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}