House Advances Three Bipartisan Bills Benefiting Birds and Communities

(Washington—Sept. 17, 2026) — The Home of Representatives this week handed three bipartisan, Audubon-supported payments that will considerably enhance habitat that birds, individuals, and communities depend on. 

The Water Assets Growth Act of 2026 (H.R. 9497) helps the U.S. Military Corps of Engineers’ work to revive aquatic ecosystems, encourage pure and nature-based options, and strengthen the resilience of communities throughout the nation. The laws would assist advance restoration in critically necessary ecosystems that birds, individuals, and our financial system rely upon, together with the Everglades, Nice Lakes, Rio Grande, Decrease Mississippi River, and Nice Salt Lake. 

Lastly, the Chesapeake Bay WATERS Act (H.R. 6893) reauthorizes science, habitat restoration, monitoring, and environmental education schemes administered by NOAA’s Chesapeake Bay Workplace, supporting continued efforts to revive the Bay and the rivers and streams that circulate into it. 

Collectively, the payments would spend money on a linked community of locations that birds rely upon all through their lives—from the communities the place they cease throughout migration to the rivers, wetlands, and coastal ecosystems the place they feed, breed, and shelter. All three payments now transfer to the Senate for consideration. 

“Home passage of those payments demonstrates that lawmakers from each events can discover frequent floor round sensible conservation options,” stated Felice Stadler, vice chairman of presidency affairs on the Nationwide Audubon Society. “Collectively, these measures give communities extra instruments to revive habitat, maintain wholesome rivers and wetlands, and defend the watersheds that birds and folks depend on. We thank the sponsors of the payments and Home leaders for this bipartisan momentum and urge the Senate to behave rapidly so Congress can ship these payments to the president’s desk earlier than the top of the 12 months.”