Clean Water Current

While the White House and Senate Democrats continue to negotiate out final potential details of President Biden’s Build Back Better (BBB)/Reconciliation bill, in the hopes of securing passage prior to the holidays, several unresolved policy matters and procedural hurdles remain that may result in potential passage not occurring until early next year. 

President Biden and Senate Democrat Leadership had hoped to build on the momentum of last month’s passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) into law, and quickly secure Senate passage of the BBB, which the House passed just prior to Thanksgiving. 

As the BBB negotiations continued this week, Congress took action to raise the national debt limit, fending off the threat of a federal default until at least early 2023. Congress also passed the final FY22 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which fortunately did not include any problematic PFAS provisions for the clean or drinking water sector, and instead focused PFAS efforts related to the Department of Defense (DoD) and military installations. 

With passage of both of these bills, Congress will likely adjourn later this week or next week for the remainder of the year unless an ultimate agreement in the Senate is reached to advance the BBB.

Please contact NACWA’s legislative team to discuss further.