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WHEREAS, President Obama in his State of the Union address called for infrastructure improvements and investment, including our water assets, but local and state governments do not have the capital resources to meet the demands; and,
WHEREAS, On March 20, 2013, the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee gave approval for Senate Bill 601, a Water Resources Development Act, which provides for the conservation and development of water and related resources and authorizes the Secretary of the Army to construct various projects for improvements to rivers and harbors of the United States; and,
WHEREAS, a portion of the Water Resources Development Act includes Title X, a provision for not one, but two, Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Acts, or WIFIA, pilot programs; one operated by the Environmental Protection Agency, and another operated by the Army Corps of Engineers; and,
WHEREAS, modeled after the Transportation Infrastructure and Innovation Act, Senate Bill 601 authorizes funding from the U.S. Treasury for up to $50 million per year to each program over five years to provide low-interest loans and loan guarantees for large infrastructure projects; and,
WHEREAS, with support from the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies for both the Water Resources Development Act of 2013 and its inclusion of a WIFIA pilot program, this Bill is excepted to receive a vote on the Senator floor as early as mid-April.
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NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh urges Senator Bob Casey Jr. and Senator Pat Toomey to support Senate Bill 601, which offers a progress and effective way to help increase investment in our infrastructure while reducing cost to local governments and ratepayers.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh fully supports this measure that has the potential to help municipalities like Pittsburgh undertake water resource improvements in a cost-effec...
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