With the August recess drawing near, congressional appropriators are making progress on spending bills for fiscal 2025. As of July 10, the House Appropriations Committee had cleared all 12 of its 2025 spending bills, each of which funds one or more federal departments or agencies. But as lawmakers debated some of the largest federal construction bills before approving them, partisan differences were clear. Measures made it out of committee but generally along party lines, signaling problems on the floor.
’A Double Whammy’
The bill funding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Interior Dept. was approved by House appropriators on July 9 along a party-line 29-25 vote. It cut EPA state revolving loan programs for water infrastructure and restricts those agencies’ ability to enforce regulations that are out of favor with the Republican Party.
Deirdre Finn, executive director of the Council of Infrastructure Financing Authorities, says that for water infrastructure, the bill is “a double whammy” of a “massive” $678-million cut from 2021 state revolving loan levels and “an even bigger diversion” of $1 billion from the loan program to 895 congressional earmarks, which come in the form of grants.“Only in D.C. can you replace a successful state-run loan program with a massive new EPA grant program and call it ‘fiscally responsible’,’ she says.
The measure funding the U.S. Dept. of Transportation, approved July 10 by a 31-26 tally, “had many positive aspects,” says Michele Stanley, National Stone, Sand & Gravel executive vice president and chief advocacy officer. One positive note was that the bill adheres to levels set in the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, providing $61.3 billion for the highway obligation limit, up 2% from 2024, Stanley notes. It increases Federal Transit Administration formula funds by 2% to $14.3 billion, which also is in line with the infrastructure law level. Similarly, the House panel bill hikes Federal Aviation Administration airport grants 19%, to $4 billion, the amount in the agency’s recently enacted authorization bill.
But the House committee’s top Democrat, Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, blasted Republicans for slicing Amtrak Northeast Corridor and national network funds 12%, more than $300 million. Lawmakers also zeroed out DOT’s Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grants. The program was funded at $345 million in 2024.
“This bill is only the beginning of negotiations, so it could be seen more as an election messaging bill,” Stanley says. Because 2024 is an election year, Congress probably will not produce a full 2025 spending bill but turn to one or more stopgap continuing resolutions to keep agencies operating, she says. Stanley adds that the election outcome will determine whether the expected continuing resolutions run until January or just until November or December.
