Washington Report – July 21, 2025

Latest News

FY 2026 Transportation, Housing & Urban Development (T-HUD) Approps Update

The House Appropriations Committee in a vote of 35 to 28 passed its FY 2026 T-HUD appropriations bill, and includes:
- Directing a portion of “advance appropriations” funds allocated by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) be transferred to other programs, if enacted, this would include funds from the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program be added to the regular General Fund appropriations accounts
- The bill includes IIJA’s $83.3B in obligation limitation for Highway Trust Fund programs, including $63.7B for the federal-aid Highway Program and $14.6B for transit formula programs
- $22.097B in discretionary spending to the U.S. Dept. of Transportation (DOT), which is $3.149B below the FY 2025 enacted funding level
- A total of $83.285B in obligation limits for highway and airport trust fund programs, the bill provides $105.078B in total budgetary resources
Additional items of note included in the committee’s report that connect to APWA’s Transportation Policy Priorities include the following:
- Truck size and weight changes were not included—APWA is part of the Coalition Against Bigger Trucks
- Directs the Federal Highway Admin (FHWA) to continue to develop resources and provide technical assistance to help state and local stakeholders facilitate Vision Zero plans and continue efforts to decrease pedestrian injuries and deaths, as well as stating strong support for local stakeholders in programs like Safe Routes to Schools
- Recognizing the unique transportation infrastructure challenges in rural and low-population areas, the Committee encourages US DOT to prioritize these communities in allocation of technical assistance and evaluating funding opportunities
- Directs the DOT Secretary to continue awarding half of all BUILD grants to rural areas, prioritize applications with strong local support, measurable public benefits, and readiness for timely and cost-effective implementation, and encourages DOT ensure prompt obligation of awarded funds and maintain transparency
- The Senate Appropriations Committee’s FY 2026 T-HUD bill is not yet available.

Big Cities/Counties Forum Visits Washington, D.C.

July 15-17, public works directors and other leaders from some of the nation’s largest metro areas convened in Washington, D.C. for their bi-annual meeting, led by APWA CEO Scott Grayson and APWA President Dominick Longobardi;
Heralding from metro areas with populations 500,000 and over, these leaders met to discuss public works and infrastructure issues affecting their regions, as well as to hear from federal officials, such as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Department of Education’s Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE), who discussed workforce development policy, as well as the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) Chief of Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, who focused on first responder and emergency management issues;
APWA CEO Scott Grayson established this group to provide a platform of discussion, collaboration and idea-exchange for those serving our nation’s largest metro areas.

DOT Secretary Hosts Surface Transportation Reauthorization Event

July 17, US DOT Secretary Sean Duffy hosted a stakeholder event at the US DOT headquarters in Washington, D.C.;
The event was widely attended by Members of Congress, heads of state departments of transportation, and other key stakeholder groups, including APWA;
During his remarks, Secretary Duffy outlined his key priorities for the next surface transportation bill, which are:
- Enhancing transportation safety
- Accelerating project delivery for transportation projects, including reforming the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and permitting, enhancing One Federal Decision, and increasing the use of technology.
- Increasing opportunities through investment in transportation infrastructure that promotes economic growth
- Strengthening partnerships with States and other key stakeholders to improve transportation outcomes
The IIJA expires September 30, 2026, and transportation leaders in the House and Senate have both stated they are aiming to have a draft reauthorization bill this year;
Secretary Duffy also recently testified before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee about the department’s FY 2026 appropriations request.

Email Your Elected Representatives to Protect Vital Water Infrastructure Funding!

In early May, the President’s FY26 budget proposal recommended cutting 90% of the Clean Water and Drinking Water state revolving funds (SRFs) and defunding the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA);
APWA is calling on you to ACT NOW and tell your federal representatives to support full funding for WIFIA and the SRFs;
Sign up to receive APWA legislative action alerts by texting PWX to 52886.

U.S. State Attorneys General File Suit to Re-Start the BRIC Grant Program

20 U.S. State Attorneys General filed suit in the United States (U.S.) District Court For the District of Massachusetts, “State of Washington et al v. Federal Emergency Management Agency et al”;
The suit was filed on the grounds that the Building Resilient Infrastructure Communities (BRIC) grant program was cancelled unlawfully;
The suit seeks to restore the approximately $4.5 billion in funding that was canceled earlier this year.

On The Horizon

(All times ET)

July 21 at 4:00 p.m., the House Rules Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on, among other things, the PERMIT Act;
July 22 at 10:15 a.m., the House Natural Resources Committee is scheduled to hold an oversight hearing titled “Permitting Purgatory: Restoring Common Sense to NEPA Reviews;”
July 22 at 10:30 a.m., the House Appropriations Committee is scheduled to hold a full committee markup of the FY 2026 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies bill;
July 23 at 10:00 a.m., the Senate Environment & Public Works committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on two key nominations – Katherine Scarlett to serve on the Council on Environmental Quality and the second is Jeffrey Hall to be Assistant Admin. for the Environmental Protection Agency;
July 23 at 10:00 a.m., the Senate Commerce, Science, & Transportation committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on key U.S. DOT nominations;
July 23 at 3:00 p.m. the Senate Environment & Public Works committee’s Transportation & Infrastructure subcommittee is scheduled to hold a hearing The Road Ahead: Proposals to Improve American’s Transportation Infrastructure;
July 24, 9:30 a.m. Senate Appropriations is holding a Full Committee Markup of Interior, Environment and Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Acts;
The National Hurricane Program will be hosting the 2025 HURREVAC webinar series will be conducted July 28 through July 31:
- HURREVAC is a free web-based decision-support tool that assists emergency managers by providing information and tools to inform hurricane response decisions in advance of a threatening storm
- Each session will feature guest speakers from FEMA, the National Hurricane Center and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
- Attendees must register for each day they plan to attend, and each session is scheduled to run from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m.
- July 28, Intro to HURREVAC
- July 29, Wind Forecast Features
- July 30, Storm Surge and Flooding Hazards
- July 31, Evacuation Timing Features