In this issue:
FY2008 House Energy & Water Appropriations bill moves forward
FY2008 House Energy & Water Appropriations bill moves
forward
The House FY2008 Energy &
Water appropriations bill (H.R.2641) and report (110-185) were released
online yesterday, after the bill was successfully reported out of the House
Appropriations Committee last week.�
The bill would provide $5.58B for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
in FY2008, an increase of $246M above the FY2007 work plan and $713M over
the President�s FY2008 budget request that was released in February.� The bill had been scheduled for a
possible vote on the House floor this week, but may be delayed due to
partisan disagreements over the question of earmarks in appropriations
bills in general.
Though this general increase in
Corps funding is welcome news, it should be noted that House appropriators
have not included spending guidance for individual projects.� For the projects in the General
Investigations (studies) and Construction accounts, there is no indication
whether the House intends for each project to receive more, the same, or
less funding when compared with the President�s request.� For Operations & Maintenance
(O&M), the House has followed the lead of the Administration, and
reflected funding through large, unwieldy regional or watershed accounts.� Most PNWA supported deep draft, inland, and coastal projects fall into Region 17, �Pacific Northwest�.�
The President�s budget provides $270M in O&M funding for this
region, whereas the House bill would provide $286M.� Again, this suggested increase in
regional O&M funding is good news, but the lack of specific project
funding makes it impossible to decipher the House�s priorities.
House appropriators have
indicated that they may be prepared to discuss individual project funding
levels after the Senate completes their version of the bill, and the two
pieces of legislation are reconciled in a conference committee.� Releasing the House�s supported project
funding levels to the Senate, stakeholders, and Corps at such a late date will
likely make for a difficult conference of a final bill in time for the start
of the new fiscal year on October 1st.
The House bill continues the
current restrictions on reprogramming, continuing contracts, and supports
the Corps� five-year budget planning efforts.� The bill�s accompanying report language
also contains a clear endorsement of hydropower, noting that �hydropower
improvements at existing facilities provide a reliable, efficient,
domestic, emission-free resource that is renewable.�
The House bill and report
language are now posted to www.pnwa.net.� As attention now turns to
the Senate, PNWA will continue to update you about how specific projects
may fare as the appropriations process continues.� For more information, or to find out how
to get involved please contact PNWA at 503-234-8550 or www.pnwa.net.
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Staff Contact: Kristin Meira
Pacific Northwest Waterways
Association
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