U.S. House of Representatives Releases Funding Bill for Water Infrastructure Programs
Photo by Louis Velazquez, Unsplash
By Deirdre Finn
FES/ACEC Florida Executive Director
On May 21, the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee released the 2027 fiscal year appropriations bill for Interior, Environment and Related Agencies, which funds water infrastructure programs offered through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Bill Highlights
The appropriations bill provides topline funding of $1.19 billion to the Clean Water State Revolving Funds (SRFs), a cut of 27% compared to last year’s appropriation of $1.64 billion. The bill:
Directs $525,486,678 to specific congressional projects.
Provides up to $666,809,322 to be distributed among all 50 states, Puerto Rico, Washington, D.C. and territories.
The appropriations bill provides topline funding of $910,755 million to the Drinking Water State Revolving Funds (SRFs), a cut of 19% compared to last year’s appropriation of $1.13 billion. The bill:
Directs $506,395,022 to specific congressional projects.
Provides up to $404,359,978 to be distributed among all 50 states, Puerto Rico, Washington, D.C. and territories.
Finally, the bill provides $64,634,000 in funding for the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act program, most commonly known as WIFIA. This maintains level funding from last year.
Behind the Programs
The Clean Water and Drinking Water SRFs and WIFIA offer affordable financing for investments in water infrastructure that protect public health and the environment.
The Clean Water and Drinking Water SRFs are state-run programs that provide low-interest loans to communities for projects of all sizes. Federal funding is provided to states and remains revolving in perpetuity, providing a reliable source of recurring revenue to finance future water projects.
WIFIA is a federal program that provides low-interest loans for large water infrastructure projects. Loans are provided directly to communities and repaid to the U.S. Treasury.
Next Steps
The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies held a “mark up” to amend and vote on May 21. Watch the hearing.
The full Appropriations Committee is expected to vote on the bill on June 3. The bill will then go to the floor for a full vote of the U.S. House of Representatives. Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate hasn’t released its companion appropriations bill.
Analysis
Since 2023, the House has cut topline appropriations for the SRFs but, each year, the Senate restored funding levels. Despite higher authorization levels, Congress hasn’t increased topline funding for the SRFs for more than a decade. Funding for WIFIA also hasn’t increased since the program was established nearly a decade ago.