Washington Report – December 1, 2025

The House and Senate return post-Thanksgiving today with much to complete before the continuing resolution (CR) funding the federal government until Jan. 30, expires;
When President Trump signed the CR Nov. 13 to fully re-open the federal government, only three FY26 appropriations bills were enacted:
- Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies
- Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies
- Legislative Branch
The remaining FY26 appropriations bills (of which several include funding for public works priorities), the departments and agencies still needing to be completed are:
- Transportation, Housing and Urban Development
- Energy and Water
- Homeland Security
- Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education
- Interior-Environment
- Commerce, Justice and Science
- Defense
- Financial Services
- State, Foreign Ops and National Security, Dept. of State
The House has completed all 12 appropriations bills, with the Senate lagging;
The Senate may pass at least one FY26 omnibus bill comprised of 3 appropriations measures (Commerce-Justice-Science, Interior-Environment and Transportation-HUD) prior to breaking for Christmas, and possibly an Energy and Water bill, with less certainty on how the remaining appropriations bills would be bundled (omnibus or as stand-alone measures).

The House Committee on Natural Resources held a markup on the Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development (SPEED) Act;
The SPEED Act would amend the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to clarify ambiguous provisions and facilitate a more efficient, effective, and timely environmental review process;
Through APWA advocacy, a new provision highlighting the importance of cooperating agencies and local government voice in the environmental review process has been incorporated into the final language;
Environmental permitting reform is a priority of both the administration and Congressional leadership. APWA expects more bills on NEPA reform in the coming year.

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held a hearing to discuss the future cleanup and disposal policy of PFAS, including the role passive receivers play in this process;
Republican and Democratic members of the committee recognized the issues facing passive receivers in the PFAS removal chain but disagreed on solutions;
APWA will continue to advocate for solutions to prevent passive receiver liability.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has published its Updated Definition of Waters of the United States (WOTUS) in the Federal Register;
The proposed rule establishes definitions for “relatively permanent,” “tributary,” and “continuous surface connection;” and creates new exclusions for groundwater, prior converted cropland, ditches, and wastewater treatment systems;
The proposed rule would align the definition of WOTUS with the Supreme Court decision in Sackett v. EPA, as well as clarify some longstanding ambiguities;
The proposed rule addresses many of the concerns APWA has expressed over the years in public comments. These comments can be found on the APWA Government Affairs Advocacy Letters page;
Comments on the proposed rule are due Jan. 5.

APWA Sr. Government Affairs Manager Marty Williams will join Caroline Sevier of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), and Dean Franks with the American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) as panelists, Dec 2, to discuss the importance of mapping related to drone usage and part of the U.S. Geospatial Executives Organization (U.S. GEO) fall forum in Washington, DC;
Marty will talk about the role of mapping and drone usage from a public works, emergency management, and cybersecurity perspective;
U.S. GEO is a coalition of the chief executives/presidents of the leading mapping firms across the country, which are typically engaged in the use of general aviation or drones for aerial mapping and surveying missions for infrastructure projects;
Federal officials and Members of Congress are expected to attend the forum.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) released new Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Detection Technology Guidance;
This tool provides recommendations on how to select and leverage UAS-detection technology to enhance situational awareness of UAS-related activity;
This guidance focuses on:
- Establishing detection-technology capability requirements by understanding the threats posed by UAS
- Determining site-appropriate detection technology based on the capabilities and considerations of UAS detection sensors
- Integrating detection technology into existing security plans to support a layered approach to protecting against UAS threats.

If you missed the Engineering Workforce Consortium’s November 21 webinar about the requirements of the interim final rule for the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program (DBE), click here to access a recording;
Tim Peters of the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) represented APWA on the panel;
The Consortium is another collaboration with APWA, the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC), and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) to address solutions to the nation’s engineering and public works workforce shortages.

Dec. 2 at 10 a.m., the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Telecommunications and Media Subcommittee will hold a hearing, Signal Under Siege- Defending America’s Communications Networks;
Dec. 2 at 10:30 a.m., the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Energy, will hold a hearing, Securing America’s Energy Infrastructure- Addressing Cyber and Physical Threats to the Grid;
Dec. 2 at 3 p.m., the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Public Lands, Forests, and Mining Subcommittee will hold a mark-up of multiple bills, including S. 91, which aims to improve federal activities relating to wildfires and was introduced by Senator Cortez-Masto (D-NV);
Dec. 11 at 1 p.m., the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Review Council will conduct its final scheduled meeting, during which their report of recommendations is expected to be released:
- Register to participate in the meeting by contacting Patrick Powers, Designated Federal Officer of the President’s FEMA Review Council, at FEMAreviewcouncil@hq.dhs.gov before 5 p.m. on Dec. 10.