Legislative Update: Appropriations & Infrastructure

Appropriations

The House Appropriations Committee has started marking up and approving its FY22 spending bills with several committees including language on single-use plastic-related in their reports. In its Committee report for the FY22 Financial Services and General Government spending bill, the Committee encouraged the General Services Administration (GSA) to explore starting a “Plastic Reduction Initiative” and work with other Federal agencies to shift to reusable foodware products. It also calls for installing water refill stations to reduce plastic water bottle usage.

The Committee continued to hone in on single-use plastics in its Legislative Branch Committee Report calling for reducing plastic products on the Capitol grounds, including plastic carryout bags, single-use food and drinkware, and encouraging the Capitol Police personnel to reduce or eliminate the use of single-use plastic water bottles.  In the FY22 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs bill, it again encouraged “sustainable operations,” instructing the Department of State to minimize its environmental footprint and “reduce the use of single-use, petroleum-based plastics products in daily operations, and encourages the use, as appropriate, of materials that are American-made and certified to be ocean degradable, compostable, and that reduce environmental contamination.”

The House of Representatives is expected to pass all 12 appropriations bills before the August recess.  At this point, regular FY22 Appropriations are not expected to be enacted into law prior to September 30, the end of the Fiscal Year. In which case, a Continuing Resolution—extending current levels of funding—will become necessary to prevent a government shutdown.

Infrastructure

On June 24, President Joe Biden announced he endorsed a $1.2 trillion infrastructure plan proposed by a group of bipartisan Senators led by Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH) and  Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ).  The new spending compromise includes $312 billion for transportation projects and $55 billion for water infrastructure. It will pay for the plan by reinstating and doubling the Superfund chemical excise tax that expired in 1995, among others potential new funding mechanisms. New taxes on ethylene would amount to $9.74/ton and $5.40 on chlorine – which as we all know is critical to keeping our drinking water safe.

This new tax on chemical manufacturers and their customers could lead to a decline in production capacity and encourage more imports from foreign manufacturers whose goods would bear no similar burden, among other potential funding mechanisms. Almost immediately after announcing a bipartisan compromise framework, the White House had to do damage control when Biden pledged to disregard the framework if Democrats don’t send him a sweeping budget bill that would fund many of his social spending priorities. Biden later clarified his statement saying it was not his “intent” to suggest a veto threat but no one in the administration has since been able to articulate exactly what is his intent when it comes to the two competing interests.

The House Problem Solvers Caucus released a statement backing the bi-partisan framework along with ten senators. At the same time, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) said he was prepared to back a reconciliation bill to address “human infrastructure” which is the term Biden and progressives are using for their massive new spending proposals on social programs. Several progressive Democrats are coming forward voicing their own oppositions and demands, proving that any one Democrat in the party has leverage with such slim vote margins.

On July 1, the House passed (221-201) the $715 billion surface transportation reauthorization bill providing support for the American Jobs Plan. The Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation (INVEST) in America Act (H.R. 3684) includes multiple provisions to bolster drinking and wastewater infrastructure, including $40 billion dedicated to Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) and $53 billion for the Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SDWSRF). During passage, the House adopted an amendment by Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-CA) requiring the U.S. Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) to issue certain limitations regarding the discharge of pre-production plastic pellets in waterways from facilities and sources that make, use, package, or transport pellets.

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