WASHINGTON, DC -- The Senate Appropriations Committee voted this week to provide federal funding for eleven key Rhode Island projects that will help with flood prevention, erosion protection, and infrastructure upgrades as part of the Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act.  The bill, which was approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee, now awaits consideration by the full U.S. Senate.

U.S. Senator Jack Reed, Rhode Island’s only member of the Appropriations Committee, successfully included over $12.5 million in federal earmarks in the bill for a variety of Ocean State infrastructure upgrades, including:

  • $7M for The Rhode Island Coastline - Army Corps to conduct pre-construction engineering and design work to elevate or floodproof areas, residences, and structures hit hard by Hurricane Sandy.
  • $1.025M for the City of Providence to install microgrids at recreation centers. 
  • $950k for Project Condition Surveys
  • $787k for the Woonsocket Local Protection Project
  • $668k for Fox Point Hurricane Barrier O&M
  • $500k for Fox Point Hurricane Barrier
  • $500k for Little Narragansett Bay
  • $400k for Great Salt Pond dredging
  • $400k for Block Island Harbor of Refuge dredging
  • $300k for Little Narragansett Bay
  • $16k for Inspection of Completed Works

“Our waterways and coastline are a vital part of Rhode Island’s ecosystem and this bill will help keep them clean, pristine, and better protected,” said Senator Reed. “This legislation funds critical construction, rehabilitation, and dredging projects and will help prevent catastrophic flooding and protect coastal communities.  Congress must invest in protecting communities from extreme weather events.  I will continue working with my colleagues on the committee and in the full Senate to advance this funding as the appropriations process moves forward.”

Reed noted the bill includes $8.9 billion in total funding for the Army Corps of Engineers and $2.77 billion for the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund. The committee-passed measure would provide continued support for programs that use natural infrastructure and environmental restoration to protect communities from extreme weather events and flooding.

Reed also led efforts to include $326 million for the Weatherization Assistance Program and $30 million for the Weatherization Readiness Fund.  In March, Senator Reed introduced bipartisan legislation to bolster the Weatherization Assistance Program in an effort to lower household energy costs.

To help implement the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 (P.L. 117-167), the bill includes $8.43 billion in new directed funding for the Office of Science, which is the largest federal sponsor of basic research in the physical sciences and supports 22,000 researchers at 17 national laboratories and more than 300 universities. The bill continues to advance the highest priorities in materials research, high-performance computing, artificial intelligence, biology, and clean energy research to maintain and strengthen our global competitiveness.

It would also provide $3.7 billion for renewable energy and energy efficiency programs.

Reed, who also chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee noted the bill would provide the U.S. Depart of Energy with $32.8 billion for atomic energy defense activities, including $7.3 billion for environmental cleanup of nuclear sites.

Passing the FY24 Energy and Water Development appropriations bill through committee is an important step that now allows the bill to be considered by the full U.S. Senate.  It must then be reconciled with a version that is making its way through the U.S. House of Representatives.  Both chambers must pass an identical version before it can be sent to President Biden’s desk to be signed into law.