President Biden Releases 2024 Budget Request by ACWA Staff Mar 9, 2023 Water News WASHINGTON, D.C. –The Biden Administration today released a summary of its Fiscal Year 2024 budget proposal. The more than $6 trillion budget includes funding for several water resources priorities including PFAS research and remediation, drought resilience, watershed protection, and infrastructure improvements. The Biden budget proposes an increase in discretionary and non-defense spending to complement the generational funding provided through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Notably, the budget includes $30.1 billion for the Department of Agriculture, $18.8 billion for the Department of Interior, $7.4 billion for the Army Corps of Engineers, and $12 billion for the Environmental Protection Agency. Specifically, the Bureau of Reclamation’s proposed budget includes $210.2 million for the Dam Safety Program. Additionally, funding of $33 million is requested to implement the California Bay-Delta Program and address California’s current water supply and ecological challenges, while $48.5 million is for the Central Valley Project Restoration Fund to protect, restore, and enhance fish, wildlife, and associated habitats in California’s Central Valley and Trinity River Basins. This is just the initial step that kicks off the budgetary process. Next, federal agencies will release more detailed budget requests. Congressional appropriations committees have begun holding hearings to identify top-line numbers before the Fiscal Year 2023 appropriations expire in September. The deadline to raise the debt ceiling will also be a significant factor in ongoing appropriations discussions. ACWA staff will be tracking the appropriations process closely over the next few months while advocating to protect vital programs and accounts. For more information on the Biden Administration’s budget proposal and the appropriations process, please contact ACWA Federal Relations Representative Jay Tanner.