Even as a final 2011 spending bill languished, President Obama moved ahead with releasing his 2012 federal budget proposal last month. The $3.72 trillion plan would reduce funding for a number of government programs – including water infrastructure programs at EPA – as part of a White House plan to put a five-year freeze on overall non-security discretionary spending.
Some notable water-related items in the President’s budget include:
-
Drinking Water/Clean Water State Revolving Funds: President Obama’s budget would provide a total of $2.54 billion for the SRFs in 2012, nearly $950 million less than the $3.487 billion the two programs received in 2010. The proposal would leave the DWSRF with $990 million next year (compared to $1.387 billion in 2010), while providing the CWSRF with $1.55 billion (compared to $2.1 billion in 2010). It also recommends requiring states to reserve 10 percent of their DWSRF funds and 20 percent of CWSRF funds for “green infrastructure” projects.
-
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: The Corps’ budget would take a $913 million hit, receiving $4.609 billion compared to $5.522 billion in 2010. A summary of the proposal explains that the request seeks “to create cost savings by eliminating duplicative and lower-priority programs, including all Corps funding of local water and wastewater treatment projects.” About $537 million of the proposed cut would come from the Corps’ construction account.
-
Interior Department: The Interior Department would escape the budget axe almost unscathed overall, as Obama is proposing $12 billion for the department – about the same as it has received in previous years. But the U.S. Geological Survey would see its funding cut to $1.018 billion (from $1.112 in 2010), and the Bureau of Reclamation would receive $1.051 billion (compared to $1.14 billion in 2010). Some conservative members of Congress have criticized the USGS proposal for putting too much emphasis on climate change programs while underfunding earthquake and volcano research grants.
The release of the President’s budget represents only the first step in the 2012 budget process, and many Republicans in Congress have already complained that the cuts do not go far enough. Republicans will have an opportunity to respond next month, when House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) releases his own 2012 spending plan.