Today the President signed an FY2019 “Minibus” into law (HR 5895) covering three of the twelve appropriations areas – energy and water, MilCon/VA, and legislative branch.  The Energy and Water portion funds the activities of USACE’s Civil Works function.  The agreement would provide a total of $7 billion to USACE

At last week’s Floodplain Management Association meeting in Reno, Nevada, the two of us planned and participated in a panel discussion on federal funding for flood control projects under the Trump administration.  Attendees enjoyed a discussion on federal funding options for local entities that are ready to carry out a flood control

All joking aside about a gridlocked Congress, real progress has been made this week on flood risk reduction authorizations and appropriations.  As explained below, it is looking like the 2018 Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) may pass shortly, and the relevant budget subcommittees are ready to move an agreed-upon appropriations

We are happy to share the guidance on how USACE should be moving forward with projects funded under the Supplemental Appropriation.  The guidance can be found here.

The appropriation provided an incredible $15 billion for construction:

Public Law 115-123 provides $15,055,000,000 in Construction funding (Supplemental Construction funds) to

In late June, President Trump unveiled his administration’s plan to reorganize the federal government.  The proposed shakeup is entitled “Delivering Government Solutions in the 21st Century: Reform Plan and Reorganization Recommendations.”  On page 15 of the proposal you will find:  “Move the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) Civil Works out of the Department of Defense (DOD) to the Department of Transportation (DOT) and Department of the Interior (DOI).”  This proposal has left many people asking questions, such as how would it work?  Would it be better?  Does Congress need to approve it?  And how is this different than every other proposal made in the past?  Indeed, during a recent Senate hearing, Senators voiced inquiries about the Department of Defense’s views:

In a last minute move to avert a mini-financial disaster, today the Senate passed, and the president signed, a bill to extend the NFIP until November 30, 2018.  The House had previously passed a companion bill.  Demonstrating the broad support to keep the program running, the Senate passed the bill 86-12 and the president signed it within hours.