Join our expert panelists in a moderated discussion on the impacts earmarks have on SRFs and their future growth and the response of States and stakeholders to this practice.
With the return of earmarks (“congressionally directed spending”), Congress has been redirecting money from the capitalization grants for both the Safe Drinking Water and Clean Water Acts State Revolving Funds (SRFs) to politically determined grants for specific utilities. The latter are grants, not loans which are the primary tool of the SRFs, albeit at low-interest rates. This raises questions about the future growth of the SRFs, the continued relevance of environmental or health-based priorities in SRF funding, and their substation with a political metric. Earmarks reduce the funds revolving through the loan programs since there is no payback of the grants. This virtual roundtable will explore the consequences of earmarks to the SRFs and the response of states and stakeholders to this practice.
In gaining an understanding of the wide range of consequences of earmarks from the SRFs capitalization grants, attendees will be better informed to engage with their state and federal governmental leaders to educate them on the negative impacts of the current practice.
Expert Panel
Moderator and Lead Discussant:
Tracy Mehan, Executive Director of Government Affairs, AWWA
I. Deirdre Finn, Executive Director, Council of Infrastructure Financing Authorities (CIFA)
II. Alan Roberson, Executive Director, Association of State Drinking Water Administrators (ASDWA)