What does a narrowly divided Congress mean for water policy?

This article is written by Chief Advocacy Officer Dan Hartnett and originally published in the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA) November 2022 issue of Water Utility Executive.

The 118th Congress will convene next year with neither political party having much breathing room to advance their respective policy agendas, as Election Day voters handed Republicans narrow control of the House of Representatives while Democrats held onto their slim majority in the Senate. These results, and the divided government in store for the next two years, offer both challenges and opportunities as AMWA and the broader water sector prepare for what will be a busy season of advocacy in 2023.

The opposition party to the president typically picks up congressional seats in midterm contests, and most political observers had predicted for the 2022 elections to follow this trend. But Democrats vastly overperformed expectations on election night, holding onto their Senate majority (and potentially netting a gain of one seat, pending the outcome of Georgia’s December runoff election), and drastically minimizing losses in the House. As of November 23, tracking by the?Washington Post?projected that Republicans had secured 220 House seats, compared to 213 for Democrats. That gives Republicans just enough seats to surpass the 218 necessary to claim a majority, but they fell short of the dozens of seats they had expected to pick up. These narrow majorities in each chamber will complicate either party’s ability to pass sweeping legislation next year.

Heading into 2023, among the top legislative priorities for AMWA will be protecting drinking water systems from CERCLA cleanup liability for PFAS, funding existing water infrastructure programs, building out programs that support low-income water affordability, making it easier for water systems to finance full lead service line replacements, and helping water systems implement sensible cybersecurity measures. While AMWA believes many of these priorities should have bipartisan appeal, in the past some have proven more popular on one side of the aisle than the other. For example, congressional Democrats have been reluctant to offer water systems any CERCLA liability protections related to PFAS. Some Republicans have seemed more receptive, but none have gone as far as to offer legislation on the subject. Such a proposal might have a chance of success in the GOP-led House, though it would face an uphill battle in the Democratic Senate.

Alternatively, congressional Democrats are generally more enthusiastic about broad spending initiatives than their Republican colleagues, and Democratic staff in the Senate have already indicated plans to consider new drinking water and wastewater infrastructure legislation next year. But even if such a bill were to win Senate approval, the Republican House may put the brakes on any major new infusions of infrastructure dollars beyond what were included in last year’s infrastructure bill. That infrastructure bill also included a provision to establish a new Rural and Low-Income Water Assistance Pilot Program at EPA but that program has remained unfunded even in the Democratic-led Congress. It could face additional challenges in FY24 spending legislation drafted by Republican leaders.

Critical infrastructure cybersecurity is another high-profile issue that could get attention on Capitol Hill next year, with implications for the nation’s water systems. AMWA has been working with lawmakers on a proposal to encourage water systems to participate in WaterISAC, and AMWA believes the forthcoming legislation could appeal to members of both parties. Less certain is the status of proposals that might impose more stringent regulatory mandates related to cybersecurity on water and wastewater systems. Such concepts have been batted around on Capitol Hill over the past year but have received a lukewarm response. With Republicans in charge of the House, any effort to impose new binding regulations on critical infrastructure stakeholders may become more difficult to attain.

With the elections in the rearview mirror, AMWA is eager to engage with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle during the 118th Congress to develop and pass legislation that promotes safe, secure, and affordable drinking water supplies. Early next year, the association will work with its Legislative Committee to develop a specific suite of policy priorities for the year, which will then be amplified during AMWA’s?Water Policy Conference?in March. Registration for the conference will open in December, and all AMWA members are encouraged to make the trip to Washington to discuss these and other important issues with their elected officials.