Michael Waltz: “I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to highlight a glaring deficiency in this bill and a…”

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to highlight a glaring deficiency in this bill and a missed opportunity to improve America's clean water infrastructure. The infrastructure package before us today, unfortunately, fails to modernize the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, or the Clean Water SRF. This program allocates Federal money to States and to communities through the States for clean water initiatives. Mr. Speaker, this bill, H.R. 2, finally reauthorizes the program for the first time since 1987. For that reason, a debate on improving the program, creating efficiencies, and investing more in clean water infrastructure is certainly warranted. Unfortunately, that debate has not occurred in this bill. What this bill does do is increase spending for the program fivefold, from the $1.6 billion appropriated in fiscal year 2020 to an $8 billion authorization for fiscal year 2021. However, we have not done any evaluation of how that money has been distributed to States through a formula that EPA calls the allotment. The allotment determines how much funding each State receives on an annual basis, and that hasn't changed since 1987. Frankly, no one really knows all the components that make up this formula. So let me reiterate: The bill before us this week increases spending for the program by five times without even a discussion or a debate at the committee or on the House floor about how that money should then be provided to the States.…”