LATEST IN THE NATION’S CAPITAL

Capitol Hill moves toward Memorial Day recess. This week, while there are no votes scheduled on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, many House committees will be holding remote hearings, including a hearing on the FY2021 Budget Request for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation (more below). The U.S. Senate continues debate on Endless Frontier Act (S. 1260) which aims to strengthen the U.S. leadership in critical and emerging technologies to compete with other nations.

Biden to release full FY2022 budget in this week. All eyes are on the White House since the President’sFY2022 full budget is expected to be released on May 27. In early April, the administration released a$4.52 trillion “skinny” budget, which only included the president’s top-in numbers for federal agencies. The full budget will include more details about recommendations on how the money should be spent in the various agencies.

Still no word on ASA (civil works) hearing. Last week, we had heard a credible rumor that Michael Connor’s first nomination hearing as the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) would happen this week in a Senate Committee. However, this hearing has not been noticed yet. Conner was nominated by President Biden to serve as ASA (Civil Works). When we get confirmation of this hearing, we will let you know.

Senate committee releases bipartisan surface transportation bill. On May 22, Democratic and Republican leadership in the Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW) released a bipartisan surface transportation bill introduced jointly by U.S. Sens. Tom Carper (D-Del.), EPW Chair, Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), EPW Ranking Member; and Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Kevin Cramer (R- N.D.), EPW Subcommittee on Transportation Infrastructure Chair and Ranking Member respectively. The measure would provide $304 billion for roads, bridges and highways. According to a committee press release, the Surface Transportation Reauthorization Act of 2021 is 34 percent higher than the FAST Act, a 2015 transportation reauthorization bill. EPW will mark up the bill on Wednesday, May 26 at 9:45am. The full text of the Surface Transportation Reauthorization Act can be found here. Additional materials include a section-by-section and tables for apportionments and authorizations.

Have infrastructure package discussions stalled? Last Friday, President Biden offered a $1.7 trillion counteroffer, down from the original $2.3 trillion plan proposed. However, according to initial reports, the price tag is still too high for Republicans and there continues to be disagreements about the scope of the package. According to Sen. Susan Collins on ABC’s “This Week,” the key issue is “What is infrastructure?… We, Republicans, tend to define infrastructure in terms of roads, bridges, seaports and airports, and broadband. The Democratic definition seems to include social programs that have never been considered part of core infrastructure.”

Relevant hearings and markups in the House and Senate this week:

  • May 24 at 2pm ET: The U.S. House of Representatives is holding a hearing on “FY 2022 Budget Request for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation” on Monday, May 24 at 2pm ET. Witnesses include Mr. David Palumbo, Deputy Commissioner of Operations, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation; Mr. Jamie Pinkham, Acting Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works); and Lieutenant General Scott A. Spellman, Chief of Engineers and Commanding General, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
  • May 25 at 11:30am ET: The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change (House Energy and Commerce Committee) is holding a hearing on “The CLEAN Future Act and Drinking Water: Legislative to Ensure Drinking Water is Safe and Clean” on May 25 at 11:30am ET.
  • May 26 at 9:45am ET: The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will hold a markup on the Surface Transportation Reauthorization Act of 2021. At press time, the committee had not noticed the time of the markup on Wednesday.

FEDERAL AGENCY CORNER

Biden releases new Executive Order to overturn FFRMS/may impact bond market. On May 21, the Biden Administration released a new Executive Order (EO) on Climate-Related Financial Risk yesterday to help people “understand how climate change can impact their financial security.” Please be advised that this EO reinstated the Federal Flood Risk Management Standard (FFRMS) which was proposed in the Obama Administration but revoked under Trump. FFRMS set tighter flood risk management standards which could have prohibited federal agencies from making any federal investments in floodplains. Additionally, the EO requires the federal government to develop a nationwide strategy to “identify and disclose climate-related financial risk to government programs, assess, and liabilities.”

Moreover, the EC instructs the writers to include the public and private investments needed to reach, by 2050, an economy wide net-zero emission goal. Furthermore, the EO directs federal agencies to assess how climate risk impacts federal lending programs, as well as financial markets. This could impact Fannie and Freddie loans and the bond market.

Resources

NWC HAPPENINGS

Reminder to register for NWC’s first-ever virtual Regional Spotlight on June 1-2. Even if you are not from California, we encourage you to check out the programming for the Regional Spotlight. We have a number of quality speakers, along with interesting topics scheduled! And, better yet, registration is FREE! A huge thanks goes out to Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency for making this meeting happen! Additionally, remember to also thank Larsen Wurzel & Associates, Inc. and Trinity River Authority of Texas for their sponsorship! For more information about the Regional Spotlight and to register, click here. To sponsor, click here.