Click here or the image above to watch Ranking Member Capito’s questions.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee,participated in a full committee hearing titled, “WRDA 2024: Stakeholder Feedback on USACE Project Partnership Agreements.”

HIGHLIGHTS:

ON OVERCOMING CHALLENGES TO PROJECT NEGOTIATIONS:

RANKING MEMBER CAPITO:

“When you had a disagreement and you say that you have to work out…you get the model…what's the length of time to try to overcome that disagreement? Does it ever get to the point where you never really do? How have you worked those out in the past?”

CHAIRMAN OF THE COASTAL PROTECTION AND RESTORATION AUTHORITY BOARD, LOUISIANA, BREN HAASE:

“So we do have a lot of experience in negotiating…thank you for the question…it can take quite a long time. It could take months to negotiate the terms of these agreements, of course, and that's where sort of the calculus of weighing the advantages perhaps to negotiating better terms for the non-federal sponsor on these agreements. Does it outweigh the potential risk, of course of not getting a project done or having a project being delayed and those costs being increased?”

ON BEST PRACTICES FOR NON-FEDERAL PROJECT APPLICANTS:

RANKING MEMBER CAPITO:

“If you were a first-time non-federal partner looking at this, what one piece of advice would you give a first-time applicant to become a partner with the Corps under these circumstances that we have now?”

CHAIRMAN OF THE COASTAL PROTECTION AND RESTORATION AUTHORITY BOARD, LOUISIANA, BREN HAASE

“I would say be aware of what other non-federal sponsors around the country are agreeing to, know what those other agreements look like around the country to learn from those experiences and the negotiations that other non-federal sponsors have gone through. And then secondly, I would say it's imperative to have a very good working relationship with your local district, the district commander.”

Click HERE to watch Ranking Member Capito’s questions.

Click HERE to watch Ranking Member Capito’s opening statement.

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