Among the host of funding recommendations and initiatives put forward in President Obama’s FY17 budget plan were new infrastructure financing programs as well as a focus on developing innovative water supply and efficiency strategies. Some notable proposals include:
- A new Financing America’s Infrastructure Renewal (FAIR) program at the Treasury Department. FAIR would offer direct loans to transportation, water, energy, education and broadband projects developed through public-private partnerships, with the goal of providing $15 billion worth of loans over ten years.
- New America Fast Forward (AFF) bonds based on the expired Build America Bond program. Mirroring a plan the White House first proposed last year, interest on AFF bonds would be taxable, meaning interest rates would likely be higher, but the government would offer issuers a subsidy equal to 28 percent of their interest costs. The bonds could be used to finance a wide range of infrastructure projects, including water and sewer improvements.
- A series of investments in water conservation, research and the development of new water supply technology, including $94.4 million for the WaterSMART program, $4 million of new funding at the U.S. Geological Survey for near real-time assessment of water use during drought, $25 million to help the Energy Department launch an Energy-Water Desalination Hub aimed at improving desalination efficiency, and $88 million to support basic water research at the National Science Foundation.
- $5.8 billion for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 1.3 percent above its current funding level. The total includes $977 million for the National Weather Service, $2.3 billion for weather satellites, and $12 million to develop the nation’s first Integrated Water Prediction capability to deliver water intelligence products and services to local stakeholders.
- $1.1 billion for the Bureau of Reclamation, including a $28.6 million research and development program, though overall Bureau funding represents a slight decrease from its FY16 appropriation of $1.215 billion.
- $4.62 billion for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, $1.37 billion below its FY16 funding level.
Republican budget leaders are expected to set aside many of these requests as they develop their own FY17 appropriations plans. This is especially true for the President’s new infrastructure financing plans and his proposed cuts to Army Corps funding, both of which lawmakers have rejected in past fiscal years.