Washington Report

By Will Brown For many, the results of the Nov. 8, 2016 election came as a surprise. For many others it was a repudiation of an establishment that has driven disgust and disenfranchisement within our government and political system. For all of us, the resultsRead More

  In a letter to President-elect Donald J. Trump last week, the American Water Works Association (AWWA) encouraged collaboration among the new administration to make water infrastructure investment a key priority in the coming years. The letter also elevated the issues of cybersecurity, source waterRead More

Republican leaders in the House and Senate announced last week they will delay final decisions on FY2017 appropriations bills until the spring and will consider a continuing resolution (CR) to keep the federal government operating until March 31. According to the Association of Metropolitan WaterRead More

Coming into the 2016 Election, Democrats were widely expected to achieve considerable gains on Capitol Hill. But in addition to Donald Trump’s surprise victory for the presidency, Republicans also came out of Election Day comfortably in control of their existing House and Senate majorities. AsRead More

Earlier this month, the House of Representatives approved the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2016 (H.R. 5303). The bill is comprehensive, bipartisan legislation to address the needs of America’s harbors, locks, dams, flood protection and other water resources infrastructure. The legislation passed the HouseRead More

The 2016 Republican and Democratic Party platforms, released at each of the party’s national conventions, convey vastly different ideas and visions for the future of water infrastructure needs in the United States. The 2016 Republican Platform, released last month at the Republican National Convention inRead More

In April, the Senate Environment & Public Works (EPW) Committee passed the Water Resources Development Act of 2016 (WRDA) by a strong, bipartisan vote of 19-1. The main purpose of the bill is to authorize a variety of public works, navigation and environmental restoration projectsRead More

Last week, U. S. Senators Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.) said they would pursue legislation that would pay up to $400 million, matching dollar-for-dollar state investments, for replacing lead service lines and other water infrastructure repairs in Flint.