Congress will postpone final decisions on FY17 appropriations bills until next spring and will consider a continuing resolution (CR) to keep the federal government operating until March 31, Republican leaders of the House and Senate announced on November 17. The decision could have negative implications for EPA’s plans to begin offering loans through the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) pilot program early next year.
Though the 2017 fiscal year began on October 1, to date Congress has only enacted one of the 12 appropriations bills required to fund the government. Before the elections, Congress voted to extend FY16 funding levels through December 9, with the expectation that lawmakers would finalize an FY17 appropriations plan during a post-election “lame duck” session.
But Donald Trump’s victory on Election Day, combined with Republicans’ holding on to control of the House and Senate, changed the calculus on Capitol Hill. Now, rather than having to compromise with President Obama on FY17 funding levels before the end of the year, congressional Republicans can pass a CR to wait out his term and develop a final FY17 appropriations plan with the new Trump Administration in the spring. The CR plan envisioned by House and Senate GOP leaders would extend current FY16 spending levels through March 31, 2017.
Proposed FY17 EPA spending bills considered earlier this year in the House and Senate each would have provided EPA with dollars to begin offering loans under WIFIA. But because EPA’s final FY16 budget included no funding for WIFIA loans, those dollars would also be absent from a CR based on those figures. As a result EPA would be unable to get WIFIA started for the duration of the CR unless funds were delivered from another source.
Before the CR announcement was made, AMWA had joined a group of water sector associations in asking the House and Senate Appropriations Committees to include “robust” funding for the Drinking Water and Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) programs in an expected FY17 omnibus spending bill, along will full authorized funding for WIFIA. The association expects to convey this message to Capitol Hill again in the spring when lawmakers will be working to develop an FY17 omnibus spending bill.