House Republicans on Tuesday praised federal funding programs to fix old water infrastructure and reduce pollution and floods but avoided offering their opinion on whether the Trump administration’s cuts to EPA could hurt those programs.
The hearing before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment focused on the agency’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund and the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA).
Both EPA programs have helped finance water needs nationwide, from excess runoff to leaking water pipes to failing sewage treatment systems. The agency has estimated that tens of billions of dollars will be needed to address those and other water challenges in the coming years.
Yet the Trump administration’s plans to cut EPA spending by 65 percent could reduce the amount of funding available through the state revolving funds and WIFIA.
