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Con re Won I Research Se
informing I leqi I ive de a ~ in e 1914
Updated February 14, 2025
Infrastructure Spending and the District
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 has been
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. In recent Congresses, the House and
Senate Appropriations Committees designate which federal
programs or accounts, if any, will be eligible for such
funding during the annual appropriations process. Members
submitting requests for projects 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).
Members can provide letters of support for the applications
of constituents who apply for competitive grants from
USDA infrastructure programs. Members can also educate
constituents about funding offered through USDA
infrastructure programs and eligibility requirements for
those programs. Members 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) eligible for CPF/CDS. House
Appropriations designated the ReConnect Program (rural
broadband) and the Water and Waste Disposal Program
eligible 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/govesme0001&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)