This week, the Senate began considering a minibus that would include funding for the EPA in FY19. This minibus includes funding for Interior & Environment, along with funding for Financial Services, Transportation & Housing and Urban Development, Agriculture & FDA.
Last week, the House approved funding for the Interior & Environment and Financial Services measures, but Transportation & House and Urban Development and Agriculture & FDA funding were not included in that minibus.
Because the Senate minibus contains more spending measures, it will be difficult to get something on the President’s desk before the August recess. As the House is preparing to head out of town on July 27 for a six-week recess, and upon return there will only be 11 legislative days until the end of the current fiscal year, there may still be need for a continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government funded until the House and Senate can get something to the President to be signed into law.
On July 19, the House of Representatives passed a minibus which includes funding for the Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and other federal agencies. The bill funds the EPA at just over $8 billion in FY19, which is roughly the same amount as the current year. However, while the bill looks to cut regulatory programs at EPA, it does maintain or increase funding for several infrastructure-based programs:
- A total of $1.5 billion for the Clean Water State Revolving Loan fund and a total of $1 billion the Drinking Water State Revolving Loan fund, which states and localities use for water infrastructure projects; and,
- A total of $75 million for the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program to leverage federal dollars to provide financing for more than $8 billion in water infrastructure projects.
The bill also maintains a current funding level of $4.1 million for the National Priorities Grant Program, which WEF supports, and an increase of $19 million for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
