Sens. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) have drafted an amendment to the Senate version of the economic stimulus bill that would provide $13 billion for wastewater and drinking water infrastructure, a significant increase over the funding levels Congress has been considering for those projects.



The version of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act approved Jan. 27 by the Senate Appropriations Committee contained $6 billion for wastewater and drinking water, while the bill (H.R. 1) passed by the House of Representatives Jan. 28 contained $8 billion.



The Senate will begin debate on the amendment Feb. 3, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) announced Feb. 2.

The Murray-Feinstein amendment would provide a total of $25 billion over and above the amounts currently contained in the Senate bill to a targeted list of infrastructure programs, including highway, transit, and water and sewer projects, according to a summary of the amendment obtained by BNA.



The amendment would increase highway funding in the Senate bill from $27 billion to $40 billion, and appropriations for public transit from $8.4 billion to $13.4 billion, according to the summary.



Murray is chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing Urban Development, and Related Agencies. Feinstein is chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies. These programs fall under their subcommittees' jurisdiction.



“Adopting the amendment will make investments in our nation's physical infrastructure a clear focal point of the economic recovery bill,” the summary stated.



Big Boost for Wastewater Projects

The Murray-Feinstein amendment would provide $10 billion for wastewater projects, more than the $6 billion in the House version and the $4 billion in the Senate Appropriations Committee version. For drinking water projects, the amendment would provide $3 billion, more than the $2 billion in both the House and Senate committee versions.



Ken Kirk, executive director of the National Association of Clean Water Agencies, told BNA Feb. 2, “NACWA and its member agencies believe very strongly that additional funding for wastewater infrastructure [is] needed as part of an economic recovery package to build environmental protection projects and put people to work.



“Our organization has identified over $17 billion in projects ready-to-go within 120 days of enactment of legislation.”



The House on Jan. 28 passed an $819 billion stimulus bill, without Republican support. The House vote followed approval Jan. 27 of a separate version by the Senate Appropriations and Finance committees (17 DEN A-10, 1/29/09).