(March 5, 2019) - NACWA Board Member Andy Kricun will testify on Thursday, March 7, at a hearing of the House Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee entitled, The Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF): How Federal Infrastructure Investment Can Help Communities Modernize Water Infrastructure and Address Affordability Challenges.

Kricun will testify on behalf of his utility, the Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority, and his testimony will provide a crucial utility perspective on a panel that will consider how federal investment can help communities address aging infrastructure and affordability challenges.

The hearing, scheduled for 10:00 am ET, will be livestreamed on the Committee website, and will coincide with the introduction of bipartisan legislation in the House to reauthorize the CWSRF, and other core clean water programs, at notably higher levels. NACWA strongly supports this legislation.

This week continues a very busy period of Congressional hearings on the Hill, covering a wide range of congressional priorities. Other Committee hearings are occurring this week which may be of potential interest to the clean water sector:

• The House Ways & Means Committee—which has jurisdiction over taxation, or the revenue side of federal infrastructure investment—will hold a hearing on Wednesday, March 6, on the state of the nation’s infrastructure and the need for federal action. In an unusual move, the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Chairman, Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and Ranking Member, Sam Graves (R-MO) will testify alongside other infrastructure stakeholders. Communication between the two Committees is essential to advancing a significant, viable infrastructure package in Congress.
• The House Committee on Oversight and Reform is holding a hearing on Wednesday, March 6 regarding PFAS risks.
• The House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology will hold a hearing Thursday, March 7 on the energy-water nexus.

The aggressive hearing schedules this winter, particularly in the House—where the new Democratic majority is eager to advance its priorities—underscore that clean water infrastructure issues remain a priority for this Congress, and demonstrate the wide range of water-related issues that are receiving attention.

NACWA’s legislative staff will continue to engage with the key Committees and Members of Congress as these issues are considered. With so much attention being paid to water, we hope many NACWA Members will join us at the National Water Policy Fly-In April 3^rd – 4^th to help us drive this conversation in Washington, DC.

Contact Kristina Surfus, NACWA Legislative Affairs Director, to discuss.