Press Releases

Opening remarks, as prepared, of Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee Chairman Mike Collins (R-GA) from today’s hearing, entitled, “Water Infrastructure Financing: WIFIA and the Clean Water State Revolving Fund”:

I want to first thank the witnesses for joining us today for our hearing on water infrastructure financing through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund and the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA), programs at the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers. Reliable water infrastructure is critical to safe, healthy, and secure communities.

Under the jurisdiction of this subcommittee, and through these programs, water infrastructure can mean many different things, such as wastewater treatment plants, which protect public health and water quality; ports and navigation channels that enable the movement of goods nationwide; and levees and dams that safeguard communities from flooding; among others. This infrastructure may not be flashy, but communities across Georgia, and throughout the United States, rely on it every single day.  And, building and maintaining it is neither a small nor cheap undertaking.

For example, some estimates have shown that hundreds of billions of dollars will be required to repair and replace clean water and wastewater infrastructure over the next twenty years. Those costs only swell when we account for our other water infrastructure needs.

The Clean Water SRF and the WIFIA programs provide financing – primarily in the form of low interest loans – for a wide range of water and wastewater projects. It is our responsibility to ensure that these programs are providing communities assistance to address their water infrastructure needs, while also ensuring that the programs are managed in a financially responsible way so they can keep providing this assistance in the future.

The Clean Water SRF has provided $172 billion through almost 50,000 low interest loans to communities, mainly for wastewater infrastructure facilities and upgrades. For nearly 40 years, this program has functioned as a successful partnership between the federal government and states, where states select projects to receive Clean Water SRF financing.

On the other hand, the EPA WIFIA program and the Corps Water Infrastructure Financing Program (CWIFP) were authorized in 2014 and are administered on the federal level.

While the EPA WIFIA program has closed 140 loans, CWIFP has not yet issued its first loan. CWIFP has struggled to get off the ground due to a variety of limitations placed on the program by our Appropriations colleagues, as well as the Office of Management and Budget.  As with all federal programs, there’s always room for improvement to increase effectiveness and efficiency and to, ultimately, spend our taxpayer dollars more responsibly.

I also want to note that for the Clean Water SRF and WIFIA programs to reach their full potential in assisting communities, we must also cut burdensome red tape and provide regulatory flexibility to get projects done faster. These are initiatives that I will continue to work on this Congress and in partnership with the Trump Administration, because a reasonably less restrictive regulatory environment will benefit all projects and programs, as well as our economy.

I’m looking forward to hearing from our witnesses today, which will provide real life perspectives on these water infrastructure financing programs—both challenges and successes.

Click here for more information from today’s hearing, including video and witness testimony.