On December 19th, Congress and President Trump agreed on a federal spending package that will fund the federal government through the end of September 2020. The spending package was the result of bi-partisan compromise to avoid another government shutdown. The package contained numerous priorities from Western States members of Congress that will have a direct impact on rural economies and help advance energy and water infrastructure development in the West, including:
The Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) was funded at the highest level in 15 years, at $495 million, an increase of $60 million from last year.
The Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program was full funded at $500 million.
The Energy and Water Development section of the package provides $8.343 billion in total funding, a $3.7 billion increase from previous funding levels and includes:
Funding as needed for the Bureau of Reclamation to assist Colorado River state in implementing the Drought Contingency Plans.
Significant funding for grid modernization, storage, and cyber research development.
Record funding of $425 million for the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E)
$20 million for the Central Utah Project, which provides water for irrigation, municipal, recreation and industrial uses.
Funding for several USACE projects that are important to Arizona, including: $2.9 million for Alamo Lake State Park, $1.2 million for the Painted Rock Dam in Gila Bend, and $559,000 for the Whitlow Ranch Dam in Queen Valley.
Sen. Cory Gardner (CO) saw many of his priorities included in the funding package and said:
“I’m proud that this funding package ties together many of the efforts that I’ve championed for Colorado this year. These efforts will lower health care costs in Colorado, provide vital resources for our military service members, and help future generations enjoy Colorado’s public lands by increasing funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund. This bill will have a direct impact on Colorado communities by fully funding critical services for counties with large amounts of federal land and supporting innovative energy research projects in Colorado.”