In late March, President Biden outlined his first major postpandemic priority—a massive infrastructure initiative called the American Jobs Plan. The US$2.2 trillion proposal includes everything from roads and bridges to climate resilience projects and home care, but water plays a key role. The plan provides $45 billion to replace all lead service lines in the country, $56 billion to support existing programs through grants and low-cost loans, and $10 billion to monitor and remediate per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water and wastewater.

Congress has begun turning the American Jobs Plan into legislative language, and each chamber is working separately on a water infrastructure component. The Senate has already passed a bipartisan bill, the Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act of 2021 (DWWIA). DWWIA doubles funding for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) program to $2.4 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2022 and scales funding up to $3.25 billion by FY 2025. The bill also reauthorizes the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) and boosts funding for small and disadvantaged communities, lead service line removal, resilience and sustainability, and research.

House committees are currently considering three major pieces of legislation with significant water infrastructure components, two related to drinking water and one to wastewater. The Climate Leadership and Environmental Action for our Nation's Future Act (CLEAN Future Act) is a climate-focused bill that seeks to decarbonize entire sectors of the economy. The bill's environmental justice component includes $4.14 billion for the DWSRF in FY 2022, $5 billion over 10 years to cover capital costs associated with PFAS treatment, $45 billion over 10 years to replace lead service lines, and $500 million over 10 years to improve drinking water system resilience.

The Leading Infrastructure for Tomorrow's America Act (LIFT Act) is a more targeted version of the CLEAN Future Act meant to modernize the country's infrastructure and combat climate change, and includes many of the same drinking water provisions. The primary difference as it relates to water infrastructure is that the LIFT Act authorizes programs for five years, while the CLEAN Future Act authorizes programs for 10 years.

The Water Quality Protection and Job Creation Act of 2021 provides $50 billion over five years to address wastewater and water quality challenges. This includes $40 billion over five years for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund program; $2 billion to capture, treat, or reuse sewer overflows or stormwater; $1 billion to implement PFAS treatment standards; and additional funding for pollution control programs, water resource management, and climate resilience.

The size of the final package will likely be determined by its route to passage. Moderate Democrats would like to see a bipartisan compromise, which may ultimately pare down the plan's price tag and scope. Senate Republicans’ first two counteroffers came in at $568 billion and $928 billion—much of which would come from repurposing COVID relief funds—and excluded many of the provisions related to climate and less traditional infrastructure. Republicans have also ruled out any tax increases or a rollback of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act as a means to pay for the new spending.

If Democrats determine that the two sides are too far apart or that further compromise would jeopardize the legislation's timeline and overall impact, they may decide to bypass the filibuster and pass the American Jobs Plan through budget reconciliation—the same budgetary maneuver used to pass the American Rescue Plan with only a simple majority.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has pointed to July 4 as a soft deadline for the House to complete its work on the American Jobs Plan, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has made clear that DWWIA is just the first component of the Senate's work. As is often the case, the American Jobs Plan may look quite different from President Biden's original proposal if and when it becomes law.

3 月下旬，拜登总统概述了他在大流行后的第一个主要优先事项——一项名为“美国就业计划”的大规模基础设施计划。2.2 万亿美元的提案包括从道路和桥梁到气候适应项目和家庭护理的所有项目，但水起着关键作用。该计划提供 450 亿美元用于更换该国的所有铅服务线，560 亿美元用于通过赠款和低成本贷款支持现有项目，并提供 100 亿美元用于监测和修复饮用水和废水中的全氟和多氟烷基物质 (PFAS)。

国会已开始将美国就业计划转化为立法语言，每个议院都在单独研究水利基础设施部分。参议院已经通过了一项两党法案，即 2021 年饮用水和废水基础设施法案 (DWWIA)。DWWIA 在 2022 财年 (FY) 将饮用水州循环基金 (DWSRF) 计划的资金翻倍至 24 亿美元，并在 2025 财年将资金规模扩大至 32.5 亿美元。该法案还重新授权了《水基础设施融资和创新法案》(WIFIA) 和增加对小型和弱势社区的资金、铅服务线拆除、复原力和可持续性以及研究。

众议院委员会目前正在考虑三项具有重要水基础设施组成部分的主要立法，两项与饮用水有关，一项与废水有关。我们国家未来的气候领导和环境行动法案（清洁未来法案）是一项以气候为重点的法案，旨在使整个经济部门脱碳。该法案的环境正义部分包括 2022 财年用于 DWSRF 的 41.4 亿美元、10 年内用于支付与 PFAS 处理相关的资本成本的 50 亿美元、10 年内更换铅服务管线的 450 亿美元以及 10 年内用于改善饮用水的 5 亿美元系统弹性。

《美国明日领先基础设施法案》（LIFT 法案）是“清洁未来法案”的更有针对性的版本，旨在实现国家基础设施的现代化和应对气候变化，其中包括许多相同的饮用水规定。与水基础设施相关的主要区别在于，LIFT 法案授权的项目期限为 5 年，而 CLEAN 未来法案的项目期限为 10 年。

2021 年的《水质保护和创造就业法案》在五年内提供 500 亿美元用于解决废水和水质挑战。其中包括五年内用于清洁水州循环基金计划的 400 亿美元；20 亿美元用于收集、处理或再利用下水道溢流或雨水；10亿美元用于实施PFAS处理标准；以及为污染控制计划、水资源管理和气候适应能力提供额外资金。

最终包裹的大小可能取决于其通行路线。温和的民主党人希望看到两党达成妥协，最终可能会削减该计划的价格标签和范围。参议院共和党人的前两次还价分别为 5680 亿美元和 9280 亿美元——其中大部分将来自重新利用 COVID 救济资金——并排除了许多与气候和非传统基础设施相关的条款。共和党人还排除了任何增税或回滚 2017 年减税和就业法案作为支付新支出的手段。

如果民主党确定双方相距太远，或者进一步妥协会危及立法的时间表和整体影响，他们可能会决定绕过阻挠议案，通过预算协调通过美国就业计划——与通过美国法案的预算策略相同。只有简单多数的救援计划。

众议院议长南希佩洛西 (D-CA) 指出，7 月 4 日是众议院完成美国就业计划工作的软截止日期，参议院多数党领袖查克舒默 (D-NY) 已明确表示，DWWIA 只是参议院工作的第一个组成部分。通常情况下，如果美国就业计划成为法律，那么它可能看起来与拜登总统的原始提案大不相同。