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Clean Water Advocacy - Newsroom - AMSA in the News

Republicans, Democrats Similar on Infrastructure Funding Issue.

The upcoming presidential and congressional elections may have little impact on water and wastewater infrastructure funding because the issue does not split along party lines, according to industry groups. President Bush introduced a cut in funding for the Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Fund and the Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund. A Republican-controlled House approved the cuts but a Republican-controlled Senate increased the funding, said Adam Krantz, a spokesman for Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies (AMSA). The increase was backed by both Democratic and Republican senators.

"This is an issue that does not cross party lines. We will keep fighting for funding regardless of who is in the White House," Krantz told CWR.

Despite the nonpartisan nature of the issue, it is unclear whether presidential candidate John Kerry (D-Mass.) supports infrastructure funding. The senator has campaigned for clean water and a cleaner environment.

The issue of infrastructure funding continues to grow in popularity in Congress; however, remains cautious on passing a bill to create a dedicated trust fund for water and wastewater issues. AMSA hopes the 109th Congress will introduce such a bill early next year. But that would depend on who is elected to Congress.

"We have improved about 70 percent of waters in the United States. Many people think that is enough success. But if we stop funding clean water now, we will go back to the days pre-Clean Water Act," Krantz told CWR.

While environmental groups criticize Bush on his environmental policies, they are not always accurate, said Bryan Brendle, an environmental policy expert with Baise & Miller PC, a lobbying firm in Washington.

"President Bush has frozen levels for infrastructure funding but as far as I know, Kerry has no specific plan for infrastructure," he told CWR.

Brendle follows wetlands issues closely and has found environmental groups are inconsistent in their reports. For example, in Reckless Abandon: How the Bush Administration is Exposing America's Waters to Harm, which was released by the Sierra Club (CWR, Sept. 6, p. 174), environmental groups accuse Bush of putting millions of acres at risk. At the same time, the groups say the administration has no way to inventory what is lost.

"It is inconsistent. If the government has no benchmark to judge wetlands degradation, how do the environmental groups have a benchmark to say millions of acres are harmed?"

Contacts: Bryan Brendle, Baise & Miller PC, (202) 331-9100; Adam Krantz, AMSA, (202) 833-4651.

Editor's Note: CWR attempted to contact both the Republican and Democratic National Committees to inquire about clear strategies for infrastructure funding. Neither party returned phone by press time.