Washington Report – November 17, 2025

*Due to Thanksgiving, the APWA Washington Report will next be published on December 1. Best wishes for a safe and enjoyable holiday.

On November 13, President Trump signed H.R. 5371, the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, to end the federal government shutdown;
The CR provides funding for government agencies and operations through January 30, 2026, at FY 2025 funding levels and includes the following programs and legislation:
- The National Flood Insurance Program
- The Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015
- Department of Homeland Security and Federal Emergency Management Agency grant programs
- Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency State and Local Cybersecurity Grants
- Department of Agriculture and Department of Interior Wildfire Management
- The following FY 2026 appropriations bills were also passed as part of the legislation ending the shutdown: Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies, the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies, and the Legislative Branch
To prevent another shutdown, Congress must pass the nine remaining FY 2026 appropriations bills before the end of January.

This week is Crash Responder Safety Week (CRSW) which recognizes the important work and responsibilities of those who respond to incidents on our roadways and work to protect the traveling public;
APWA is an active participant recognizing this important week and, along with our safety partners in law enforcement, fire safety, transportation management, emergency communications, towing, and other emergency responders, comprise the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) supported Executive Leadership Group (ELG) on Traffic Incident Management (TIM);
APWA President Vic Bianes has issued a video recognizing CRSW;
Additionally, APWA Immediate Past President Dominick Longobardi and Dave Bergner, APWA’s appointed member representative to the ELG TIM, are both participating in a CRSW event at U.S. Dept. Of Transportation (DOT) headquarters on Nov. 17, as well as the ELG TIM quarterly meeting being held in person;
U.S. DOT Secretary Sean Duffy and FHWA Administrator Sean McMaster are expected to participate in the CRSW recognition event and APWA Government Affairs will be posting on X and LinkedIn throughout the week to bring more attention to CRSW;
If you have questions about APWA’s work on TIM, please contact Andrea Eales, Director of Government and Public Affairs at aeales@apwa.org.

The Engineering Workforce Consortium (EWC), a joint effort led by APWA, the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) is hosting a webinar to discuss recent changes to the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program;
Listen in as experts share insight about the new documentation and narrative requirements under the interim final rule and the expected impacts on federal contracting and procurement opportunities;
The webinar is scheduled for this Friday, November 21st, at 1:00 pm ET;
Register here;
For full information on the interim final rule and to submit comments, go to the Federal Register.

APWA, along with 23 other water, government, and industry organizations, sent a coalition letter to House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee leadership supporting the reauthorization of expiring State and Tribal Assistance Grant (STAG) programs;
STAG programs include widely used water infrastructure programs, including the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds, lead service line replacement funding, and emerging contaminant prevention and remediation funds;
Many of these programs expire in 2026 and APWA will continue to work with our partners to ensure they are retained.

In the coming weeks, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will prepare to stand up a new Office of Superfund and Emergency Management which will consolidate the Offices of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation, Emergency Management, and Federal Facilities Restoration and Reuse into one;
The Office of Land and Emergency Management will refocus on Superfund cleanup and may propose new remediation standards in the coming years;
This Office is responsible for establishing PFOA and PFAS standards.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced that grant funding will be available through the standalone FIFA World Cup Grant Program (FWCGP);
FWCGP grants will be administered through the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security’s FEMA Grant Programs Directorate and will provide $625 million in federal funding to enhance security and preparedness for the 2026 FIFA World Cup events hosted in the United States;
The deadline to apply for grant funding is Dec 5 by 5:00 p.m. ET.

If your U.S. Representative is not already a member of the bi-partisan U.S. House Public Works and Infrastructure Caucus, take a few moments to contact them and urge them to join the Caucus;
The caucus is a forum in Congress focused on bringing attention to the critical role of public works in providing our nation’s communities with essential services and members of the Caucus work on legislation and support educational briefings to bring attention to the need for greater investment in our critical infrastructure;
To participate, go to APWA’s standing legislative action alert and if you have questions, contact APWA Sr. Government Affairs Manager Marty Williams (mwilliams@apwa.org).

The Oct 28 APWA public works/first responder town hall moderated by APWA President Vic Bianes, with featured remarks from Government Affairs Committee Chair Jeff May of Iowa, and Emergency Management Committee Chair Jason Stawski of Colorado, is now available;
Please share your thoughts and feedback on the town hall with the Emergency Management Technical Committee or with Sr. Government Affairs Manager Marty Williams (mwilliams@apwa.org).