Edwards’ bills to improve dam safety and cut government waste signed into law

U.S. Congressman Chuck Edwards (NC-11) announced that the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2024 was signed into law, which included his provisions that authorize funds to improve water systems in Western North Carolina, and four bills, including three that strengthen dam safety and the Federal Use it or Lose it Leases (FULL) Act.

The passage of WRDA secures the the following funding authorizations for North Carolina’s 11th congressional district:

• More than $41 million for flood mitigation along the Pigeon River in Canton, N.C.
• $1.5 million for downtown water system rehabilitation in Murphy, N.C.
• $4 million for water plant expansion in Weaverville, N.C.
• More than $3.4 million for water infrastructure upgrades in Robbinsville, N.C.

Edwards’ three dam safety bills that were signed into law include the National Dam Safety Program Reauthorization Act of 2023, the National Dam Safety Program Amendment Act, and the Low-Head Dam Inventory Act. These bills enhance federal dam safety programs to make sure that states have the information and resources they need to keep America’s dams safe.

The bipartisan FULL Act introduced by Edwards with Congresswoman Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (WA-03) as co-lead in the 118th Congress was designed to reduce government waste by requiring that federal agencies get rid of unused office space.

Edwards said, “During a time when our nation’s debt is spiraling out of control, we need to root out wasteful government spending throughout the federal government. The FULL Act will improve accountability in how federal funds are used by making sure that Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars aren’t being thrown away on unused office space.”

“Hardworking taxpayers shouldn’t be footing the bill for empty office buildings and their landlords,”said Gluesenkamp Perez. “Our bipartisan FULL Act will reduce government waste by ensuring unused federal office space is effectively repurposed and informing whether leases get renewed. By being good stewards of taxpayer dollars, we can instead use them for commonsense projects that rebuild our crumbling infrastructure and strengthen economic growth.”

The FULL Act requires federal agencies to submit an annual report on the occupancy and use of office space for each month to the General Services Administration (GSA) and have written procedures in place for returning office space to the GSA if usage rate falls below 60 percent for six months within any one-year period. GSA’s portfolio of 6,659 leased spaces currently costs taxpayers more than $6 billion per year.

Although federal telework levels remain high, agencies’ DC headquarter (HQ) offices are sitting mostly empty. A 2023 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found 17 out of 24 federal agency HQ buildings were less than 25 percent occupied, with some less than 10 percent full. Even during a maximum telework period, federal agencies managed to spend more than $1 billion every year on new furnishings for mostly empty offices between 2020 and 2022.