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Infrastructure Spending and the District
December 13, 2024
The federal government invests in many types of physical
infrastructure that are, with the exception of federal water
resource projects, predominantly owned by state and local
governments or privately owned. The federal government
invests in infrastructure in four main ways: (1) direct
spending on federally owned and operated infrastructure
(e.g., federal dams); (2) grants to nonfederal entities,
particularly state and local governments (e.g., grants to
public transit agencies); (3) loans to nonfederal entities
(e.g., loans to sponsors of major highway projects); and (4)
tax preferences that forgo federal revenue to provide
incentives for nonfederal investment in infrastructure (e.g.,
tax-preferred municipal bonds used to finance sewers).
Members of Congress may wish to guide federal funding to
local infrastructure projects or serve as a conduit to connect
constituents to federal funding sources. One of the most
direct ways for Members to influence funding is through
what are often called earmarks (known in the House as
Community Project Funding [CPF] and in the Senate as
Congressionally Directed Spending [CDS]). Earmarks
generally are understood as congressionally directed
spending that benefits a specific entity or locality other than
through a competitive or internal agency selection process.
The House and Senate Appropriations Committees typically
designate which federal programs or accounts, if any, will
be eligible for such funding during the annual
appropriations process. Members submitting requests for
projects in their districts may have to meet certain
disclosure requirements, such as a certification that the
Member has no financial interest in the project. Members
also may, among other approaches, submit letters of
support, participate in stakeholder meetings, and raise
awareness of competitive project opportunities and criteria.
This In Focus discusses ways in which Members can have a
role in allocating federal resources through mechanisms
that fund rural development, surface transportation,
drinking water and wastewater, and federal water resource
projects. The final section discusses information resources
for grant opportunities and awards.
Rural Deve opment
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) administers
grant, loan, and loan guarantee programs that support the
construction, repair, and modernization of infrastructure in
rural communities. These programs support drinking water
systems, wastewater systems, rural broadband
infrastructure, and essential community facilities (such as
police departments, fire stations, disaster preparedness
centers, health clinics, and libraries).
Congress typically provides funding for USDA
infrastructure programs through annual Agriculture, Rural
Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related
Agencies appropriations bills. For FY2024, Congress
appropriated $523 million for loan subsidies and grants for
USDA community facilities programs; $596 million for
loan subsidies and grants for USDA water and waste
disposal programs; and $170 million for loan subsidies and
grants for USDA rural broadband programs (P.L. 118-42).
Appropriations for loan subsidies can support much larger
amounts of loan capacity (e.g., $3.4 billion in loan authority
for USDA community facilities programs in FY2024).
Congress may influence funding for USDA infrastructure
programs through strategies such as letters of support and
CPF/CDS. Members can provide letters of support for the
applications of constituents in their districts who apply for
competitive grants from USDA infrastructure programs.
Members also can request funding for projects in their
districts through the annual appropriations process, when
allowed. In FY2024, Congress funded a total of $642
million for such projects for USDA infrastructure programs.
The House and Senate Appropriations Committees
designated the Community Facilities Program and the
Distance Learning and Telemedicine Program (a rural
broadband program) for CPF/CDS. House Appropriations
designated the ReConnect Program (rural broadband) and
the Water and Waste Disposal Program for CPF.
Surface Transportat on
Highway and public transportation funding, administered
by the Department of Transportation (DOT), typically is
provided in multiyear surface transportation authorization
bills. Funding for FY2022-FY2026 was provided by the
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA; P.L. 117-58).
Annually, IIJA provided $70.2 billion for highways, $18.2
billion for public transportation, and $2.5 billion for
multimodal programs (eligible projects included rail and
ports). Some additional funding for similar purposes is
provided in annual Transportation and Housing and Urban
Development appropriations bills (in FY2024, $2.2 billion
for highways and $2.6 billion for transit), including funding
for CPF/CDS. In the past, CPF/CDS also has been included
in some surface transportation authorization bills.
Most highway (88%) and public transportation (67%)
funding provided by IIJA is distributed to state and local
governments by statutory formulas. Decisions about the use
of this funding are made through state and local planning
processes by state departments of transportation, federally
mandated metropolitan planning organizations, and public
transportation agencies. Members can participate in
stakeholder meetings with these organizations.](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.crs/goverqq0001&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)