Congress extends water cleanup funding while tightening foreign-entity rules

What it does

This bill reauthorizes and extends EPA funding for eleven regional water restoration programs (Great Lakes, Long Island Sound, Columbia River Basin, San Francisco Bay, and others) through fiscal year 2031, with specific cost-sharing requirements and a ban on funding entities domiciled in or working with foreign countries of concern. It also expands coastal water-quality monitoring to identify contamination sources and requires a Government Accountability Office audit of EPA geographic program efficiency within two years.

Why we flagged it

The bill's core function is extending and reauthorizing existing EPA geographic water-restoration programs through 2031, with modest procedural amendments and oversight requirements. It is routine legislative reauthorization of established public-interest programs.

What the text implies

• The 75% federal cost-share cap and 25% non-federal match requirement may limit participation by economically disadvantaged communities that lack local funding capacity, potentially concentrating benefits in wealthier regions with stronger municipal budgets.
• The foreign-country-of-concern restriction (tied to the Research and Development, Competition, and Innovation Act definition) may exclude legitimate international scientific collaboration or binational restoration efforts, particularly with Canada on Great Lakes and Columbia River projects.
• The GAO audit is required but its recommendations are non-binding; if the audit identifies inefficiencies or duplication, Congress is not obligated to act, limiting the accountability mechanism's teeth.
• Expansion of coastal water-quality monitoring to identify contamination sources may shift enforcement burden toward states and localities without corresponding federal funding for remediation, creating a data-collection mandate without cleanup resources.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

The bill funds restoration of major water bodies and coastal ecosystems that millions of Americans depend on for drinking water, recreation, and fisheries, with cost-sharing requirements ensuring non-federal partners contribute. The foreign-entity restriction and GAO audit enhance accountability and reduce capture risk, though the audit's recommendations are non-binding.

Who stands to gain

• state and local water agencies
• environmental consulting firms
• nonprofit environmental organizations
• water infrastructure contractors

Named in the bill

EPA, Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, Long Island Sound program, Columbia River Basin Restoration Program, San Francisco Bay Restoration Program, Chesapeake Bay Program, Lake Champlain Basin Program, Lake Pontchartrain Basin Restoration Program, Puget Sound program, Gulf of America Program, South Florida Program, Southeast New England Program — and 3 more

Where it stands

3 cosponsors: 2 Democrats, 1 Republicans.

• Dec 4, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Dec 4, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure”
• Dec 18, 2025 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
• Dec 18, 2025 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Ordered to be Reported by Voice Vote”
• Mar 24, 2026 — Passed the House · Congress.gov: “On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required)…”
• Mar 24, 2026 — Floor vote scheduled · Congress.gov: “Mr. Taylor moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

6 lobbying clients named this bill on 7 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $1,691,430 in lobbying spend. A filing names 19 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 82% of bills with at least one filing.

Pete Stauber, the sponsor, reported $991,374 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• Nature Conservancy — $900,000 on 1 filing
• University of Michigan — $300,000 on 2 filings
• National Association of Clean Water Agencies — $140,000 on 1 filing
• National Parks Conservation Association — $139,430 on 1 filing
• Trout Unlimited — $120,000 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.