Army Corps of Engineers gets four new offices to speed water projects.

What it does

The bill creates four new offices in the Army Corps of Engineers. One handles inland navigation. One handles water supply and drought resilience. One gives technical help to communities. One handles new ways to deliver projects. The bill also speeds up permits and feasibility studies. It sets up a Levee Owners Board to advise Congress on flood management.

Who it affects

States, cities, and tribes get faster project approval and clearer guidance. Communities that need water supply, flood protection, or drought help benefit. Non-federal partners must pay part of the costs for some projects.

One thing to notice

The bill creates a Levee Owners Board. This board advises Congress on flood management priorities. The bill lets the Secretary create blanket approval categories. This reduces case-by-case environmental review.

From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.

Where it stands

3 cosponsors: 2 Democrats, 1 Republicans.

• Jun 29, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Jun 29, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure”
• Jul 14, 2026 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
• Jul 14, 2026 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 66 - 0”
• Sep 16, 2026 — Passed the House · Congress.gov: “On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required)…”
• Sep 16, 2026 — Floor vote scheduled · Congress.gov: “Mr. Graves moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

92 groups reported lobbying about this bill. They filed 94 reports from Jun 2026 to Jun 2026.

Those reports show $10,697,904 in lobbying spending. Each report lists about 5 bills. So that money was not all for this bill.

More groups named this bill than 99% of bills with any report.

Sam Graves, who sponsored the bill, received $900,513 from PACs for the 2026 election.

• Archer Daniels Midland Company — $1,500,000 in 1 report
• Dow Chemical Company Dba Dow — $1,050,000 in 1 report
• Nature Conservancy — $900,000 in 1 report
• National Mining Association — $820,000 in 1 report
• Earthjustice Action — $376,600 in 2 reports

Lobbying is legal. These reports show who lobbied about this bill, not what changed.

Words to know

• feasibility studies — Research to see if a water project will work and is worth the cost.
• drought resilience — The ability to handle and recover from long periods without rain.
• Levee Owners Board — A group that advises Congress on how to manage flood protection systems.
• lobbying — Trying to influence lawmakers about a bill. Companies and groups pay people to do this.
• PACs — Groups that collect money and give it to candidates for office.
• sponsored — To sponsor a bill is to introduce it in Congress and put your name on it.