Washington Report – July 28, 2025

Latest News

Due to the scheduled August district/state work period for both the House and Senate, the next issue of the APWA Washington Report will be published on September 8. To stay informed on advocacy activity, follow APWA Government Affairs on X and LinkedIn. We hope to see many of you in Chicago for PWX and if you are there, come join our Government Affairs education sessions. For times and locations, check out the PWX schedule.

House Appropriations Committee Passes FY 2026 Commerce, Justice, Science bill

The House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations advanced their proposed FY 2026 Commerce, Justice, State Appropriations bill which would provide $76.8B in funding for FY 26, under the proposed measure, the U.S. Department of Commerce would receive approximately $10.1B, which is down 3% from current numbers. This includes:
- $5.79B for the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
- The date for a vote by the full House of Representatives has not yet been announced.

Senate Appropriations Committee Passes FY 2026 Transportation bill

In a vote of 27 to 1, the Senate Appropriations Committee passed its FY2026 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, (T-HUD) and related agencies spending bill;
The Senate bill proposes a 3% increase in spending over enacted FY2025 levels, and includes $10B more in its recommended FY2026 funding than its House counterpart;
The House Appropriations committee passed its FY2026 T-HUD bill earlier this month, and it was highlighted in the July 21 Washington Report;
Senate Appropriators are recommending the following funding levels for DOT:
- $26.5B in discretionary budget authority
- $1.1B for the DOT Secretary’s office and this includes $250M for the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grants, and $513.6M for the Essential Air Service program
- $63.3B for the Federal Highway Admin.
- $22B for the Federal Aviation Admin. which includes $350M for a competitive Rural Bridge and Rehabilitation program, $10M for the National Scenic Byways program
- $2.9B for the Federal Railroad Admin. and $100M for the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) grant program
- $16.8B for the Federal Transit Admin. that includes $1.9B for the Capital Investment Grants program, and $1.1B for the bus and bus facilities program, and $55M for the ferry program
Senate Appropriators also included language in their bill report requiring the Dept. of Transportation (DOT) to issue new draft guidance for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program that was established in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA)–DOT has rescinded program guidance for NEVI and suspended NEVI grants;
The date for a vote on the bill by the full Senate has not been set.

House and Senate Appropriations Committees Pass FY 2026 Interior-Environment bills

Both the House of Representatives Appropriations Committees in a 33-28 vote and the Senate Appropriations Committees in a 26-2 vote advanced their FY 26 Interior-Environment funding bills out of committee;
The House bill cuts the EPA budget by 23% from FY25 levels, while the Senate bill cuts its budget by 5%. Most notably:
- The Senate bill includes $1.64B for the Clean Water and $1.13B Drinking Water State Revolving Funds
- The House bill includes $10M for cybersecurity training in the water sector
- Both bills include traditional funding levels for the Midsize and Large Drinking Water System Resilience Program ($2.25M) and the Public Water System Supervision Grants ($115M)
- Both bills included $64M for the Water Infrastructure Funding and Innovation Act (WIFIA)
- $6.4B is appropriated towards wildland fire management and suppression activities in the Senate version, while the House version contains $2.4B for wildfire management
Because the recommended funding allocations are different, the House and Senate will need to come up with an agreed upon number before a budget can be passed.

FEMA Publishes NOFO for Disaster Preparedness Grants

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recently published Notices of Funding Opportunities (NOFO) for two disaster preparedness grants;
The FY 2025 programs are:
- $15M for states and territories through the Community Assistance Program–State Support Services Element (CAP-SSSE) which was created to support communities that participate in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)
- $2M through the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) program which is designed to help states implement earthquake safety, mitigation, and resilience activities
- The application period for both programs opens July 28 and will close on August 11 at 5 p.m.
- Applications must be submitted through FEMA GO.

FEMA Seeks Comments for Updated Radiological Emergency Preparedness Manual

FEMA is soliciting comments to be incorporated into their updated “Radiological Emergency Preparedness Program Manual,” which is scheduled for release in 2027;
The current 2023 manual includes planning standards and guidance for communities and offsite response organizations near commercial nuclear plants to prepare for radiological disasters;
Public comments will be accepted through September 30, 2025, you may do so via the FEMA Comment Matrix form to FEMATHDPolicy@fema.dhs.gov, using the subject line “2023 RPM Public Comment.”

House T&I Holds a Hearing on NEPA Reform

The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure held a permitting titled Permitting Purgatory: Restoring Common Sense to NEPA Reviews;
The hearing panel included representatives from local government, electric utilities, academia, and think tanks;
Discussion during the hearing focused on permit streamlining, better transparency throughout the process, holding agencies accountable for deadlines, and what recent court cases, including Seven Counties Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County means for the future of NEPA permitting;
House leadership has stated that they intend to focus on permitting reform in 2025, and APWA expects more hearings on this issue in the coming months.

Take Action 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);
While the recently passed FY26 appropriations bills have reinstated some of the original funding, these bills are still recommending the SRFs get $2B less than previous funding levels;
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.

On The Horizon

(All times ET)

July 30 at 10:00 a.m., the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation committee has a mark-up scheduled on multiple key transportation nominations, including for the National Highway Traffic Safety Admin., the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Admin, and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Admin.;
July 30 at 2:00 p.m., the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Border Management, Federal Workforce, and Regulatory Affairs Subcommittee will hold a hearing titled “The Future is Loper Bright-Congress’s Role in the Regulatory Landscape.”