Agreement Reached on FY15 Funding for Most Federal Agencies
The President has signed into law the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015, funding most federal agencies through the fiscal year, with a continuing resolution funding the Department of Homeland Security through February 27th.
The Corps of Engineers’ civil works program is funded at $5.5 billion, ($13M less than FY14 but 20% or $922M more than requested) as follows: Investigations: $122 million; Construction: $1.639 billion; Operations & Maintenance (O&M): $2.908 billion, including $1.1B from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund; Mississippi River & Tributaries: $302 million; Regulatory: $200 million; and the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works): $3 million.
In lieu of earmarks, the Congress again added additional funding pots for each business line. The Corps has 60 days to submit work plans, and is required to provide a detailed description of the ratings used to evaluate projects in each account, how the funds were allocated, a summary for each allocation, and a list of projects considered and the reasons they did not receive funds.
Among the policy provisions in the Act, there is a prohibition on the use of funds to implement a new Federal Flood Risk Management Standard until the Administration has solicited and considered input from Governors, mayors and other stakeholders. (see related post) In addition, the explanatory statement accompanying the bill again includes an expression of concern over the ongoing effort to revise the Principles and Guidelines, and directs the Corps to continue to use the 1983 version. Regarding lock and dam levels of service, the Corps is directed to undertake an economic analysis of whether this reduced service is in the best economic interests of the nation. With respect the WRRDA, the explanatory statement notes that most of the funding decisions for FY15 were made in the absence of WRRDA and that it is anticipated that WRRDA provisions will be more fully integrated into the FY16 budget.
The full text of the Act may be accessed here: