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The House and Senate have advanced their respective versions of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2026. The bipartisan House bill was approved by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on July 14, and the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee unanimously advanced its bipartisan legislation on July 15.

WRDA is a critical infrastructure bill that authorizes U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) projects and provides congressional direction for how the Corps builds, maintains, and improves America’s water resources infrastructure.

For the recreational boating industry, WRDA plays an important role in protecting access to public waters and improving the infrastructure that boaters, anglers, marinas, marine businesses, and coastal communities rely on every day. These goals are central to NMMA’s Waterways Access Initiative, which seeks to ensure that Americans can safely and reliably reach, use, and enjoy the nation’s waterways.

The House bill recognizes the importance of recreational access, including key provisions that reaffirm recreation as a core USACE mission. While the legislation does not include NMMA’s full set of priorities, it takes important steps toward modernizing USACE policies, improving transparency, and better aligning the Corps with other federal agencies responsible for managing public recreation and water access.

The Senate version goes further by including several recreational boating industry priorities. In addition to reaffirming recreation as a core mission, the Senate bill includes provisions addressing USACE real estate rules, lease terms on USACE-managed waterways, coordination among federal agencies on access and infrastructure databases, and an examination of allowing recreation sites to retain the fees collected at those locations.

NMMA applauds the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee for unanimously advancing the bipartisan legislation and appreciates its effort to more fully incorporate the recreational boating industry’s core WRDA priorities. Modern lease structures, improved federal coordination, clearer policies, and locally retained recreation fees can help communities maintain facilities, attract private investment, and respond more quickly to the needs of boaters and other outdoor recreation users.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers manages some of the nation’s most important public recreation sites, including roughly 400 lake and river projects, 3,732 boat ramps, and more than 107,000 marina slips. These sites receive approximately 269 million visits each year and support 210,000 jobs.

As demand for outdoor recreation continues to grow, aging docks, limited boat ramp parking, deferred maintenance, and outdated lease structures can make it harder for families to safely and reliably get on the water.

WRDA 2026 would help address these challenges by strengthening federal water infrastructure, supporting navigation, reducing unnecessary administrative barriers, improving project delivery, and advancing locally driven projects that benefit communities across the country. These reforms would help marine businesses invest in facilities, allow local managers to respond more effectively to community needs, and prevent aging infrastructure or outdated federal policies from limiting access to public waters.

Recreational boating is a uniquely American industry. Ninety-five percent of boats sold in the United States are made in the United States, and 93 percent of boat builders are small businesses. Recreational boating generates $230 billion in annual economic activity and supports more than 812,000 American jobs across 36,000 businesses.

By advancing WRDA 2026, Congress has an opportunity to protect public water access, improve and expand recreation infrastructure, support American marinas and small businesses, and help ensure families can enjoy America’s waterways for generations to come.

NMMA looks forward to working with members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee as the bills advance through the legislative process.

For more information about WRDA and the USACE, please contact Cameron Nelson at [email protected].