While Congress tries to right the ship and provide the authorized infrastructure investment, the Administration is committed to maximizing transparency so communities across America know what to apply for, who to contact, and how to get ready to rebuild. That’s why they have created a guidebook for state, local, tribal, and territorial leaders. This guidebook is a roadmap to the funding available under the law, as well as an explanatory document that shows, in as much detail as currently available, program-by-program information.
Category: Legislative Updates
The top Republican on the House Agriculture Committee accused the Biden Administration of keeping lawmakers in the dark on plans for a new $1 billion climate program.
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The National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) thanked the U.S. House of Representative’s Committee on Natural Resources for considering H.Res. 641, a Recognition and Celebration of NACD’s 75th Anniversary.
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Government funding runs out Feb. 18. Appropriators are hoping for a year-long funding deal as part of an omnibus spending package. Football translation: punt!
Biden’s State of the Union address is set for March 1.
The Biden administration wants to pass legislation to combat China’s rise in the high-tech space in February or March.
Remember the Build Back Better Act? It’s on life support right now, but Senate Democrats want to revive it ahead of the midterms. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) wants to scrap the agreement and start from scratch.
A growing number of Republican and Democratic senators have been working with Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) to rework the Electoral Count Act and overhaul other election-related laws. After Senate Democrats’ broad-based voting reform push fell flat, the White House seems eager and willing to get something done. And Republicans are playing ball, for the time being.
The Pentagon has put 8,500 U.S. troops on alert that they might be shipping out to Eastern Europe as the Russians continue to threaten to invade Ukraine. Both the House and Senate will get classified briefings as soon as next week, and lawmakers are getting eager to craft a sanctions package to punish Moscow.
And Now add to the list the Supreme Court appointment and nomination process.
Congress officially opened its public process for the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) for 2022. Assistant Secretary of the Army for Public Works Michael Connor and Chief of Engineers Lieutenant General Scott Spellmon with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers appeared before House Transportation & Infrastructure Water Resources Subcommittee and the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee on Wednesday, January 12 to outline Biden Administration priorities for water infrastructure development in the coming year. The hearings represented the first public activity on the biennial legislation.
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Producers and landowners will be able to start signing up for the Conservation Reserve Program at the end of the month as the department tries to expand the acreage to reach the 2018 farm bill’s goal for fiscal 2022.
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The Supreme Court will take another shot at deciding the scope of the Clean Water Act, granting a petition to determine whether the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit "set forth the proper test for determining whether wetlands are 'waters of the United States'" under the CWA.
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On November 18, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Department of the Army (the agencies) announced a proposed rule to re-establish the pre-2015 definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) which had been in place for decades, updated to reflect consideration of Supreme Court decisions. This action advances the agencies’ goal of establishing a durable definition of WOTUS that protects public health, the environment, and downstream communities while supporting economic opportunity, agriculture, and other industries that depend on clean water. This proposed rule would support a stable implementation of “waters of the United States” while the agencies continue to consult with states, Tribes, local governments, and a broad array of stakeholders in both the implementation of WOTUS and future regulatory actions.
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Congress enacted the Clean Water Act in 1972 with the statutory objective “to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation’s waters.”
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American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall commented on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed rule to replace the Navigable Waters Protection Rule.
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