EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy returned to Capitol Hill last week to once again defend the agency’s FY15 budget and its request to cut Drinking Water and Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) spending by $581 million.
Appearing before a pair of House Energy and Commerce subcommittees, Administrator McCarthy testified that EPA’s request of $1.775 billion for the SRF programs would support sustainable water infrastructure investments while “paying particular attention to small water systems.” She met pushback, however, from Rep. Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.), who called the SRF request “disappointing” and said “water is basic to everything we do in our daily lives, and our economy.” Tonko went on to call for additional water infrastructure investment, telling McCarthy that EPA’s budget “should be a statement about what we aspire to for the future.”
AMWA and other water utility organizations wrote to lawmakers last week to request the DW and CW SRFs receive funding at an amount at least equal to their combined FY14 appropriation of $2.356 billion.
McCarthy’s testimony also highlighted the Obama Administration’s $1.03 billion request for spending on climate change and air quality and its $10 million request to support President Obama’s Climate Action Plan, calling the threat from a changing climate “one of the greatest challenges of this and future generations.” She said the request includes $2 million for technical assistance to help water utilities at greatest risk from storm surges and other funds that would aid at-risk communities with adaptation planning.
Subcommittee Republicans generally responded to EPA’s climate priorities with skepticism, but the plan won strong backing from Democrats. Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Democrat Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) told McCarthy Americans are counting on EPA to help the nation prepare for climate change.