Blog

This year, our country faced an enormous public health crisis. The coronavirus pandemic demonstrated the critical role that water and wastewater systems play in communities—protecting public health, safeguarding the environment, and making a healthy economy possible. On World Water Day, together we can take this opportunity to notice the way that water systems impact our lives and to commit to ensuring a sustainable water future for generations to come. | More >

The first month of President Biden’s term has been defined by the urgent need to support pandemic relief and recovery efforts. One of President Biden’s first actions in office was to issue an Executive Order on Economic Relief Related to the COVID-19 Pandemic to provide immediate support to struggling Americans. In the release of the Executive Order, the White House called on Congress to “finish the job” of providing economic relief by passing the American Rescue Plan, which President Biden put forth before assuming office. To that end, throughout the past month Congress has been working to pass COVID relief legislation through the budget reconciliation process, which allows legislation affecting federal spending and revenue to pass by a simple majority. | More >

Washington looks very different at the end of January than it did at the end of 2020. There is much still to be accomplished, but this time of transition provides a unique opportunity to advance One Water policies. With a pair of wins in Georgia, Senators Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock flipped control of the Senate to the Democrats. The Senate is now divided 50-50, with Vice President Kamala Harris serving as the tie-breaking vote. This power change has myriad impacts on future legislation and rulemaking under the new Biden Administration.  | More >

There’s much still left to be addressed in Congress, not the least of which is the impending end to government funding, which runs out midnight Friday, December 11. The House and Senate passed a one-week continuing resolution on December 9, which pushes the government funding deadline to Friday, December 18. However, it will still be a tight turnaround for a massive spending package. An alternative would be to kick the can into 2020 by passing another continuing resolution before the 18th that extends funding into early next year. Regardless of which way Congress decides to go, it is critically important to avoid a government shutdown which would be disastrous for millions of Americans are struggling due to a nine-months-and-counting global pandemic.  | More >