Congress boosts clean water funding for states and tribes by $800M annually
H.R. 5445 — Federal-State Partnership for Clean Water Act of 2025 · Filed by Hillary Scholten (D-MI) · 6 cosponsors · Introduced Sep 17, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill increases federal funding for state and local clean water programs by raising wetlands protection grants from $75 million to $300 million annually (2026–2030) and adding a new $500 million annual authorization for state water-quality management assistance (2026–2030). At least $100 million per year of the wetlands funding must go to states, tribes, and municipalities for wetland protection and restoration. The bill also makes a technical correction to remove outdated fiscal-year language.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative mechanism is raising federal appropriation ceilings for existing state-administered clean water and wetlands programs. It is a straightforward funding increase with no deregulation, immunity grant, or private carve-out.
What the text implies
- Funding increase is capped at fiscal years 2026–2030; reauthorization will expire unless Congress acts again, creating a recurring legislative pressure point.
- Mandatory $100M/year minimum for wetlands may shift state spending priorities if total appropriations fall short of authorized levels.
- Technical amendment removing 'Beginning in fiscal year 1974' language simplifies Section 106(e) but does not substantively change its operation.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill increases federal funding available to states and tribes for wetland protection, restoration, and water-quality management—core public goods that reduce pollution, protect drinking water, and preserve ecosystems. Citizens benefit from stronger local environmental capacity without new restrictions on their rights or remedies.
Named in the bill
Federal Water Pollution Control Act, Section 104(u), Section 106(a), Section 106(e), States, Interstate agencies, Municipalities, Indian tribes
Where it stands
6 cosponsors: 6 Democrats.
- Sep 17, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Sep 17, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (1,277 characters) on Jun 10, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
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