Congress quietly expands water infrastructure subsidies to include software tools
H.R. 5513 — To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to make certain technology investments eligible for additional subsidization, and for other purposes. · Filed by Vince Fong (R-CA) · 2 cosponsors · Introduced Sep 19, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill expands what water infrastructure projects can receive federal subsidies under the Clean Water Act. It adds software tools (asset management, operational analysis, digital construction systems) and four new project categories (water efficiency, energy efficiency, stormwater control, and cost-effective sustainable projects) to the list of eligible investments for federal funding.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative mechanism is to expand the categories of water-related technologies and projects eligible for federal Clean Water Act subsidies. It is a straightforward amendment to funding eligibility criteria with no hidden provisions or unrelated riders.
What the text implies
- Software vendors (asset management, operational analysis, digital construction systems) may capture a portion of the subsidy flow if utilities elect to purchase these tools rather than develop them in-house.
- The addition of 'cost-effective and sustainably planned' projects creates discretionary criteria that may favor larger municipalities with planning capacity over smaller rural systems.
- Federal subsidy expansion may reduce pressure on states to fund water infrastructure, potentially shifting long-term burden to federal taxpayers.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill broadens federal funding eligibility for water infrastructure improvements that reduce costs (water/energy efficiency, stormwater management) and improve service quality. Citizens benefit through lower utility bills, better environmental outcomes, and more resilient water systems, with no apparent restrictions on citizen rights or protections.
Who stands to gain
- water utilities and municipalities (primary)
- software vendors specializing in water asset management and digital construction tools (secondary ca
Named in the bill
Federal Water Pollution Control Act, Section 603(i)(1)(B), water utilities, municipalities, software vendors
Where it stands
2 cosponsors: 2 Democrats.
- Sep 19, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Sep 19, 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.
Money around this bill
2 lobbying clients named this bill on 4 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $560,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 7 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 41% of bills with at least one filing.
Vince Fong, the sponsor, reported $1,031,250 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Autodesk Inc — $440,000 on 2 filings
- Autodesk, Inc — $120,000 on 2 filings
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (550 characters) on Jul 6, 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.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
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