# 116-hr-5217: WOW Act

116-hr-5217, WOW Act, is a 116th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. McClintock, Tom [R-CA-5] (R-CA); status Referred to the Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry. (as of 2025-11-18).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/116-hr-5217
- As of: 2025-11-18
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 116-hr-5217
- Congress: 116
- Title: WOW Act
- Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry.
- Introduced: 2019-11-21
- Sponsor: Rep. McClintock, Tom [R-CA-5] (R-CA)
- Cosponsors: 11
- Policy area: Water Resources Development
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2025-11-18

## Summary

Water Optimization for the West Act or the WOW Act This bill addresses issues related to water projects in the Western States. Among other things, the bill makes the Bureau of Reclamation the lead agency for coordinating permitting activities required for the construction of certain new surface-water storage projects, directs the bureau to convey certain facilities and easements to the Kennewick Irrigation District in Washington State, redirects Department of Transportation funds previously intended for high-speed rail development in California to the Department of the Interior for certain water-related programs, gives the Fish and Wildlife Service the sole authority to protect endangered or threatened fish species that are anadromous species or catadromous species, authorizes the use of certain bureau facilities to convey water to recharge certain aquifers, and prohibits Interior or the Department of Agriculture from requiring a water user to apply for or acquire a water right in order to obtain certain permits or licenses.

## Cosponsors (11)

- Rep. McCarthy, Kevin [R-CA-23] (R-CA), 2019-11-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Bishop, Rob [R-UT-1] (R-UT), 2019-11-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Calvert, Ken [R-CA-41] (R-CA), 2019-11-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Nunes, Devin [R-CA-22] (R-CA), 2019-11-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Newhouse, Dan [R-WA-4] (R-WA), 2019-11-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Fulcher, Russ [R-ID-1] (R-ID), 2019-11-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Cook, Paul [R-CA-8] (R-CA), 2019-11-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. LaMalfa, Doug [R-CA-1] (R-CA), 2019-11-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Hunter, Duncan D. [R-CA-50] (R-CA), 2019-11-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Gosar, Paul A. [R-AZ-9] (R-AZ), 2019-11-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Tipton, Scott R. [R-CO-3] (R-CO), 2019-11-21T00:00:00.000Z

## Related bills

- 116-hr-7061: American Critical Mineral Exploration and Innovation Act of 2020
- 116-hr-4305: PAWS for Veterans Therapy Act
- 116-hr-6742: Protecting Life in Crisis Act
- 116-hr-1865: Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020
- 116-hr-2423: Women's Suffrage Centennial Commemorative Coin Act
- 116-hr-8333: BUILDER Act of 2020

## Sources
- [116-hr-5217 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/5217)

## Related
- [116-hr-7061: American Critical Mineral Exploration and Innovation Act of 2020](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/116-hr-7061)
- [116-hr-4305: PAWS for Veterans Therapy Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/116-hr-4305)
- [116-hr-6742: Protecting Life in Crisis Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/116-hr-6742)
- [116-hr-1865: Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/116-hr-1865)
- [116-hr-2423: Women's Suffrage Centennial Commemorative Coin Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/116-hr-2423)
- [116-hr-8333: BUILDER Act of 2020](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/116-hr-8333)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/116-hr-5217 (as of 2025-11-18).