AMWA-backed proposals to enact a WIFIA program, boost funding for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SRF), and protect tax-exempt municipal bond interest were all praised by lawmakers during AMWA’s 2014 Water Policy Conference in Washington, DC earlier this month.
WIFIA (formally known as the “Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act”) was a frequent topic of conversation among conference speakers, with several raising expectations that a version of the proposal will win a place in larger water resources legislation Congress is expected to finalize later this spring. Rep. Tim Bishop (D-N.Y.), who is part of a conference committee negotiating the larger water resource bill, told attendees WIFIA has a “fair shot” at finding a place in the legislation.
Lawmakers would not comment, however, on the extent to which any final WIFIA language would mirror a version approved by the U.S. Senate last year. That bill would offer low-cost loans for major drinking water and wastewater projects expected to cost more than $20 million, but would also restrict the use of tax-exempt debt to finance project costs not covered by WIFIA.
Other congressional speakers at the conference pushed back against the Obama Administration’s request to cut $581 million from the Drinking Water and Clean Water SRFs in the next fiscal year. Rep. Bob Gibbs (R-Ohio) explained that while reducing spending is important, “cutting the SRFs is not the way to go.”
Preserving tax-exempt municipal bond interest was a popular position among lawmakers including Rep. Randy Hultgren (R-Ill.), who said, “Protecting municipal bonds is a Main Street issue.” These comments came in reaction to various proposals to scale back the exemption for high-income earners – a policy that would likely raise borrowing costs for municipalities. Several speakers said the scale-back proposals would not move through Congress this year, but could return in the future. As a result, they recommended utilities start working now to raise awareness of the value of muni bonds among other members of Congress.