Press Releases

Washington, D.C. - Congressman Rob Wittman today shepherded his Chesapeake Accountability and Recovery Act, H.R. 1053, through the Natural Resources Committee with bipartisan support.  The bill, which passed by Unanimous Consent, will now be scheduled for consideration by the full House of Representatives.

"I am thrilled by the bipartisan support for this important legislation.  Today's passage puts us one step closer to getting a handle on Chesapeake Bay restoration.  If we ever want to achieve meaningful progress in the Bay cleanup, we have to improve the coordination and execution of our efforts.  This bill helps us do just that," said Wittman.

Wittman's legislation would fully implement two cutting edge management techniques, crosscut budgeting and adaptive management, to enhance coordination, flexibility and efficiency of restoration efforts. Neither technique is currently required or fully utilized in the Bay restoration efforts, where results have lagged far behind the billions of dollars spent.

"Both methods required by this bill have been used successfully in complex restoration efforts in the Everglades, the Great Lakes and the California Bay Delta.  By taking a couple pages out of their playbook, I think we will achieve substantial improvements in Chesapeake Bay Restoration" said Wittman.

In drafting this legislation, Congressman Wittman drew heavily on his 16 years of experience as a shellfish specialist monitoring water quality and environmental health issues in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Congressman Rob Wittman represents the First District of Virginia. He was elected to his first full term in November 2008 and serves on the Natural Resources Committee and the Armed Services Committee, where he is the Ranking Member of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee.