House Transportation and Infrastructure committee advances package of aviation, water and GSA measures

The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on Monday advanced a package of bipartisan measures addressing water program reauthorizations, aviation safety and digitization, drone operations, railroad safety and General Services Administration (GSA) oversight, reporting each to the House by voice vote.

Chairman Graves opened the markup and, after a series of brief exchanges, the committee considered and favorably reported HR 6422, the American Water Stewardship Act, which combines six stand‑alone bills to reauthorize EPA regional and geographic programs such as the National Estuary Program and the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI). Representative Stauber, who offered an amendment in the nature of a substitute that served as the base text, said the package “brings together 6 stand alone bills to reauthorize and strengthen key EPA water quality and ecosystems restoration programs” and pointed to program oversight via a GAO reporting requirement. Ranking Member Larson and other members emphasized local benefits for shoreline communities and restoration projects supporting flood protection and local economies.

The committee also moved several aviation measures. Representative Knott (as introduced in the hearing) described HR 6267, the Aviation Supply Chain Safety and Security Digitization Act, as a response to recent incidents in which parts’ documentation did not match the parts’ condition and urged a GAO study of barriers to digitizing FAA paperwork, including Authorized Release Certificates…