On December 27, 2020, President Trump signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, which includes a $1.4 trillion omnibus spending bill for fiscal year (FY) 2021 along with $900 billion in COVID-19 stimulus relief. ...more
Congress recently passed the economic stimulus package referred to as the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act1”), the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act (“PPPHCE Act”),...more
The post-Memorial Day summer session has begun in Washington with the House and Senate facing a similar to-do list but with different approaches and philosophies. The main items on the summer agenda include the Phase 4...more
With partisanship at a fever pitch, one area of agreement between both parties on Capitol Hill and with President Trump has been the need to address the increasingly fragile state of the nation’s infrastructure. However, as...more
With the 2018 midterm elections meaning Washington will return to divided government next year, leaders in both parties will be looking to position themselves for the 2020 election, which is not as far away as it may seem. In...more
After a whirlwind midterm election night, the results are (mostly) in. The Republicans increased their majority in the Senate with wins in Indiana, North Dakota, and Missouri (and are leading in Florida) while losing only...more
The Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2018, included as title I of the America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 (S. 3021), was signed into law yesterday. The new law provides the needed authorization for investment...more
Great news for those of us tracking the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), which authorizes specific projects, creates and modifies programs, and updates authorities for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: The Senate has...more
All joking aside about a gridlocked Congress, real progress has been made this week on flood risk reduction authorizations and appropriations. As explained below, it is looking like the 2018 Water Resources Development Act...more
Outlook for This Week in the Nation's Capital - Minibus Appropriations Strategy. The House and Senate are planning to move appropriations bills in small packages of two or three bills in order to avoid a significantly delayed...more
HEADLINES - Congress returns from Memorial Day recess with the Senate in session today and the House reconvening Tuesday. ...more
Congress returns this week from the Memorial Day recess. The Senate convenes today at 3 p.m. The House will meet Tuesday at noon — look for GOP lawmakers to continue their internal bickering over immigration and the failed...more
Outlook for This Week in the Nation's Capital - Recess Week. Both the House and Senate are in recess this week. Opioid Legislation. Majority Leader McCarthy has said that the House is planning to consider its expansive...more
Section 1122 of the Water Resources Development Act of 2016 directs the Secretary of the Army, no later than 90 days after the enactment of this law (which took place on December 16, 2016), to establish a pilot program to...more
On Monday, February 12, President Trump formally unveiled his proposed infrastructure package entitled “Legislative Outline for Rebuilding Infrastructure in America.” The proposal outlined the following main goals...more
The United States Corps of Engineers (“Corps”) issued a February 9th Federal Register notice for Request of Proposals (“RFP”) for beneficial use of dredged material projects. See 83 Fed. Reg. 5763. The RFP is being issued...more
I often joke with my clients that following issues too closely at the federal level can result in whiplash. To that regard, it has been a very active summer in Washington, DC on the water infrastructure front. Here’s a rapid...more
On February 12, 2018, the White House unveiled its 55-page proposal for infrastructure investment, the Legislative Outline for Rebuilding Infrastructure. The sweeping proposal seeks to inject funding into several key areas...more
Stakeholders with a water resources development project they would like modified or studied need to submit requests to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (“USACE”) in a timely fashion and should pay close attention to a notice...more
In the waning days of the Obama administration, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a set of rules and notices to establish long-term, low-cost credit assistance to creditworthy water and wastewater projects....more
In the early hours of December 10, after weeks of intense negotiations between House and Senate conferees, the Senate voted to send a final package containing Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) language to the President’s...more
The President has signed the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act, which was passed by the House and Senate earlier this month. The WIIN Act legislation was originally called the Water Resources...more