Washington Report – June 8, 2026

June 8, 2026

Latest News

APWA Leading Workforce Webinar Tuesday

APWA’s Associate Director of Education Deanne Walters and Career and Workforce Development Manager Corinne Watts will lead the Engineering Workforce Consortium (EWC)’s second webinar focused on our nation’s workforce challenges;
The webinar will highlight APWA’s micro-credentials, how they enhance professional skill sets and can lead to more workforce opportunities;
“Aligning Engineer and Public Works Curriculums to Meet Industry Needs” will be held June 9. Registration is closed;
A first-of-its-kind effort, the consortium brings together a diverse coalition of voices from academia, government, and industry;
Click here to learn more about the Engineering Workforce Consortium.

House Appropriations Approves FY27 Transportation Funding

The House Appropriations Committee has approved its FY27 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related agencies (T-HUD) bill, which includes proposed annual funding to the Dept. of Transportation (DOT);
The bill would repurpose $7.9B from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), expiring Sept. 30, to programs more aligned with Trump Administration priorities;
If enacted, funds would be shifted from programs across various DOT agencies including the Federal Highway Admin. (FHWA)’s National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program, and the Highway Infrastructure Program;
Some Federal Railroad Admin (FRA) Fed-State Partnership program dollars would go to Amtrak programs like the NE Corridor, the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements grants, and Railroad Crossing Elimination grants, as well as to Federal Transit Admin. (FTA) Infrastructure grants, and Capital Investment grants;
Additionally, with IIJA expiring, unless there is an extension passed by Congress, or a new surface transportation law enacted, there will be no advance appropriations, and the Highway Trust Fund will not have spending authority;
The House Transportation and Infrastructure committee passed its proposed bill to succeed IIJA, May 22, the BUILD America 250 Act;
House Action has not been scheduled, and House committees that have jurisdiction over portions of the bill have not scheduled their mark-ups
- Senate committees of jurisdiction for surface transportation programs are currently working on legislative language
Leaders in both chambers have said they intend to take respective action before the July 4 Congressional recess.

House Advances FY27 DHS Appropriations Bill

The House Committee on Appropriations Homeland Security Subcommittee has approved its FY27 Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS) Appropriations bill;
If enacted, the bill would allocate $64.9B in discretionary funding, including:
- $34.1B for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
- $2.4B for the Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)
The House Appropriations committee is scheduled to mark-up the bill June 9;
The U.S. Senate has not introduced its DHS appropriations bill.

House to Vote on FY27 Labor & HHS Appropriations Bill

The House Committee on Appropriations is scheduled to hold a full committee markup hearing, June 9, to consider the FY27 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies bill;
Highlights of the proposal:
- $60M for enhanced work training in rural communities (Appalachian, Delta, and Northern Border regions)
- $10M increase for the Strengthening Community Colleges Training Grants Program
- $25M for growing American cybersecurity workforce
- $20M for rural wastewater operators
- $5M increase in support of Executive Order 14278, the Trump Administration’s goal of surpassing one million new, active apprenticeships.

President Trump Issues AI Executive Order

President Trump has signed an Executive Order (EO) Promoting Advanced Artificial Intelligence Innovation and Security;
The EO seeks to increase collaboration between the federal government and the private sector by modernizing information systems and hardening them against external threats;
Additional measures call for protecting intellectual property from exploitation and theft by adversaries through the establishment or expansion of federal programs and cybersecurity services that enhance AI-enabled defensive tools.

CISA Hosting Town Hall Meetings on CIRCIA

Beginning June 15, CISA will host town hall meetings on the rulemaking for the Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act of 2022 (CIRCIA);
The townhalls are to provide stakeholders (including those in critical infrastructure sectors) an opportunity for input on refining the scope and burden of the CIRCIA Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM);
These townhalls replace those previously scheduled events for March and April that were canceled due to the partial federal government shutdown;
Register here.

CISA Releases Automatic Tank Gauge Systems Fact Sheet

CISA has released a fact sheet on Hardening Automatic Tank Gauge Systems;
This is a response to malicious cyber activity targeting the nation’s automatic tank gauge (ATG) systems used in critical infrastructure sectors;
ATGs are used for automated and remote monitoring of storage tank parameters, including fuel and liquid levels, temperature, and possible leak detection, in the energy, chemical, and transportation systems sectors;
CISA is urging ATG owners and operators to defend against this malicious activity by securing their ATG systems with strong passwords and removing them from the internet to reduce public exposure.

CISA Seeks Comments on Emergency Preparedness Communications, July 6

CISA is requesting comments on National Security and Emergency Preparedness Communications;
Specifically, feedback on updating the National Emergency Communications Plan to support, promote, accelerate, and attain interoperable emergency communications nationwide, and is an excellent opportunity for public works to share first-hand experiences;
Comments are due July 6.

On the Horizon

(All times ET)

June 9 at 10 a.m., the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee has scheduled a hearing, the Need for Speed: How Technological Advances are Driving Transportation Innovation;
June 9, at 11 a.m., the House Appropriations Committee has scheduled a mark-up of the FY27 DHS funding bill;
June 9, at 11 a.m., the House Appropriations Committee has scheduled a mark-up- of the FY27 Labor/HHS funding bill;
June 10 at 10 a.m., the House Financial Services Housing and Insurance Subcommittee has scheduled a hearing, Examining Local Needs in Disaster Recovery.