The Appropriations Committees of the House and Senate each approved their respective versions of FY14 Energy and Water spending legislation last week.
The House Appropriators’ bill would provide the Army Corps of Engineers with $4.9 billion next year, along with $965 million for the Bureau of Reclamation. The measure also includes language to block any use of funds for work on guidance or regulations aimed at clarifying the scope of wetlands coverage under the Clean Water Act – a provision that committee Democrats unsuccessfully attempted to remove. The rider reflects Republican concerns about a pending Obama Administration guidance they say would drastically expand the number of waters subject to federal regulatory oversight.
The Senate Energy and Water appropriations bill does not include similar restrictive language on the Clean Water Act guidance and also offers more generous funding levels than the House version. Senate appropriators approved providing $5.3 billion for the Army Corps of Engineers and $1.1 billion for the Bureau of Reclamation.
It is not yet known if each bill will get its own vote before the House and Senate or whether the language will be rolled into a larger omnibus spending bill.