With the Republican effort to repeal and replace Obamacare all but dead, Congress began to shift the agenda towards tax reform and infrastructure. Members of the House Committee on Agriculture met on July 19 to discuss the state of infrastructure in rural America. The Committee recognized that there is an inability for small communities to finance necessary upgrades due to people moving out of rural towns to urban areas. The Committee also addressed a need for investment in infrastructure, from which they hope to leverage the investment to get greater broadband internet access in order to bridge the digital divide. Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minnesota) remarked “Strong infrastructure is necessary in rural America to get products to market. There are large rural areas that lack broadband programs, and there’s no sustainable funding source to finance broadband expansion.” Many panelists and Committee members voiced concerns about the digital divide and a lack of basic broadband access in their regions, which is important for tools such as telemedicine, emergency response, agriculture research, and basic business functions.
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Water Resources also held a hearing on infrastructure titled “Building a 21st Century Infrastructure for America: Implementation of the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014 and the Water Resources Development Act of 2016.” The purpose of the hearing was to examine current water infrastructure projects and evaluate possible reforms to strengthen implementation of these ventures. In his opening remarks, Subcommittee Ranking Member Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach) criticized the Trump Administration for striking the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Water Rule and reinstating the pre-existing regulation. Throughout the question and answer segment of the hearing, members pressed witnesses from the Army Corps of Engineers for updates on water infrastructure projects in their districts. Rep. John Garamendi (D-Walnut Grove) took the opportunity to enquire about the status of the Hamilton Wetland Restoration Project, which is behind schedule, according to the witnesses. The Corps’ inability to complete projects on time prompted committee members to brainstorm strategies to improve agency efficiency and effectiveness. Throughout the hearing, Committee members called on the Army Corps of Engineers to meet project deadlines and improve their budgetary process.