GOP irked as $14 billion for water systems became $40 billion

July 2020

New legislation would make it easier for states to get money for clean water projects, but drove the cost of the program much higher

When House Democrats released a massive $1.5 trillion infrastructure bill covering everything from schools to broadband to wastewater on June 22, Republicans were dismayed — and not just because they’d had little input on the package.

Instead, they say, the 2,309-page measure ignores previous agreements between Republicans and Democrats on items that both sides had lauded just months ago.

Key among those agreements: the October 2019 House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s bipartisan vote to advance a bill that would reauthorize the Clean Water State Revolving Fund. That measure included $14 billion for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund — the primary vehicle for the federal government to steer money to wastewater infrastructure.