Trump Administration Releases

"Skinny Budget" for FY2026

The Trump Administration released its “skinny budget” for FY2026 on Friday, a precursor to the more detailed President’s budget that is expected to be released later this month. The budget is nominally a starting point for the appropriations process, but typically serves more as a symbolic statement of an administration’s priorities. This year, however, that dynamic might change in an era when the executive branch is pushing the boundaries of its authority over federal spending. This process is separate from budget reconciliation, which is the pathway Republicans are using to pass a tax cut extension while bypassing the Senate filibuster (more on this below).

The budget proposal would imperil many Great Lakes programs, especially at NOAA and the EPA. NOAA’s budget would be cut by $1.5 billion, about one-quarter of its $6.7 billion budget. This is slightly less than the $1.7 billion cut reportedly contained in the draft “passback” budget. While the budget released Friday provides few details about which programs would be cut beyond saying that it “terminates a variety of climate-dominated research, data, and grant programs,” the passback budget reportedly seeks the elimination of the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) as a line office, severe cuts to harmful algal bloom research, and would zero out funding for the Great Lakes Observing System and the Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research, among other programs. The difference in the magnitude of the NOAA cuts leaves the possibility that not all of those proposed cuts made it into the final version, however. The full, more detailed, budget proposal will provide more clarity. One cut the skinny budget does cite is NOAA’s Climate Adaptation Partnerships, regional climate research and community engagement teams, one of which is GLISA, which serves the Great Lakes region.

EPA would see its budget cut by a staggering 55%. One main area facing cuts are the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds (SRFs), which would be cut by over 90%. Those funds were funded at $1.64 and $1.13 billion, respectively, in FY2024 appropriations. Under the budget proposal, the SRFs would be funded at a combined $305 million. Proposed cuts to the SRFs are not uncommon – President Biden’s FY2025 budget requested just $2.4 billion in SRF funding – but funding at this level would dramatically decrease federal water infrastructure investment. That is by design. The budget says that states should “be responsible for funding their own water infrastructure projects,” instead of receiving federal funding, and that they should “adjust to alternative funding sources for their water infrastructure.” The budget also claims that the SRFs are “largely duplicative of the EPA’s Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program.” In actuality, however, WIFIA and the SRFs are complementary programs that work together to address the nation’s water infrastructure crisis. WIFIA is better suited for financing large projects with long-term loans.

The budget also seeks to eliminate 16 EPA categorical grants totaling about $1 billion. Among these are several critical Great Lakes accounts: Beach grants, which fund water quality monitoring and communication with the public in the event of unsafe conditions; section 319 non-point source grants, which provide funding to states and tribes to combat non-point source pollution and improve water quality; and the Brownfields Grant Program, which provides money to clean up and redevelop contaminated sites. The Brownfields Grant Program also receives funding through other federal avenues aside from that $46 million line item, so it would not be completely eliminated under the proposal.

One bright spot in the President's skinny budget is a requested increase for the Maritime Administration’s (MARAD) Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP). The budget requests $550 million for the PIDP, up from just $120 million in FY2024 and $212 million in FY2023. The PIDP will also receive $450 million from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which would bring the total appropriation to $1 billion. This is especially critical to the Great Lakes region given that the PIDP has begun to give a more equitable share of funds to Great Lakes ports. Last year, Great Lakes ports received 13% of PIDP funding, up from just 2% the year prior.

NEMWI will continue to track the appropriations process. When the full President’s budget is released, NEMWI will publish a report on its contents with regard to Great Lakes programs.

House T&I Committee Advances

Reconciliation Recommendation

The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on Wednesday approved a budget reconciliation proposal, advancing its portion of President Trump’s signature legislative priority, which seeks to extend his 2017 tax cuts and increase funding for border security and to offset that spending in part with sweeping cuts elsewhere. Most of the focus has been on the Energy and Commerce Committee, which is tasked with finding $880 billion in cuts, mostly from Medicare and Medicaid, but other committees have crucial parts to play as well.

The Transportation and Infrastructure Committee proposal reduces the deficit by $10 billion through cuts and revenue generation. $4 billion in recissions come from the elimination of seven Inflation Reduction Act programs. These include three programs to make federal buildings more environmentally friendly, including by improving energy-efficiency and using materials with lower associated greenhouse gas emissions. Another program focuses on the development of sustainable aviation fuels and low-emission aviation technologies. It would also repeal the Neighborhood Access and Equity grant program, which provides grants to make cities more walkable and improve public transportation, especially for disadvantaged communities.

The proposal also raises revenue for the Highway Trust Fund. The HTF, which funds the construction and upkeep of roads, is funded by the gas tax, but has been experiencing shortfalls for years as the gas tax has stayed constant since 1993 and construction costs have outpaced inflation. This has been exacerbated by the advent of electric vehicles, whose drivers get the benefit of infrastructure investments without contributing to them through the gas tax. The proposal, however, would swing the pendulum in the opposite direction. It would impose an annual fee of $100 for plug-in hybrids and $250 for fully electric vehicles, which would lead owners of those vehicles to pay as much as double what an owner of a gasoline-powered vehicle pays through the gas tax. The committee estimates that this will raise $38 billion over ten years, but the Congressional Budget Office projects that the HTF will be over $300 billion in the red by 2035. After facing backlash, the committee removed part of the proposal that would have imposed a $20 annual fee on all cars.

The committee recommendation would increase spending on the Coast Guard and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The Coast Guard would receive $21 billion in total, including $5 billion for Arctic cutters and domestic icebreakers. Other money is directed towards aircraft and related equipment and services. The FAA receives $12.5 billion for air traffic control technology.

Democrats proposed over 100 amendments addressing topics from high-speed rail to social security to federal employee layoffs. None of the proposed amendments passed. Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI) proposed an amendment that would have increased funding for many EPA regional programs, including the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, the Chesapeake Bay Program, and the Lake Champlain Basin Program. “EPA oversees several regional clean water programs in addition to the GLRI, spanning from Louisiana to California to safeguard our communities, ecosystems, and the economies that rely on them,” Rep. Scholten said. “I urge my colleagues all of my colleagues to join me in providing robust funding for our Great Lakes Restoration Initiative as well as the EPA regional programs that keep our waters safe.” The amendment failed due to Republican opposition, 31-35.

Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet also introduced an amendment that would boost GLRI funding, by $25 million per year over ten years. “The Great Lakes are important to our local economy, our recreational spaces, and our way of life, all while containing 90% of America's surface freshwater,” Rep. McDonald Rivet said. “The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is our primary tool to restore and preserve the Great Lakes. It prevents the spread of invasive species, manages and controls pollution in the Great Lakes, and maintains and develops the ecosystem, all while generating $3 in economic output for every dollar we spend.” The amendment failed, 31-35. Notably, however, freshman Rep. Tom Barrett (R-MI) voted in favor of both amendments, the only Republican to do so.

Watch Rep. McDonald Rivet’s remarks here.

The proposal will now go to the House Budget Committee, where it will be compiled with the other committee recommendations into one bill, which will then be brought to the floor.

House SST Advances Bipartisan ANCHOR Act

The House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology marked up and advanced six bipartisan bills on Tuesday. Among these was the Accelerating Networking, Cyberinfrastructure, and Hardware for Oceanic Research Act, the ANCHOR Act, co-sponsored by Reps. Haley Stevens (D-MI) and Vince Fong (R-CA). The ANCHOR Act seeks to improve the cybersecurity and communications capacity of academic research vessels. It directs the National Science Foundation (NSF) to develop a plan that evaluates the security, communications, and networking needs of the U.S. Academic Research Fleet, outlines the upgrades necessary to meet those needs, and estimates the costs, technology, and personnel needed to accomplish those upgrades.

Committee Chair Brian Babin (R-TX) lauded the bill in his opening statement. “Our US academic research fleet conducts vital oceanographic research in some of the world‘s most isolated regions,” he said. “H.R. 1223, The ANCHOR Act, will ensure that these mobile laboratories have modern and reliable cyber infrastructure and communication systems to meet today’s research and security demands.”

Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) used her opening statement to echo those points but also expressed concern that the bill’s aims would be undermined by cuts to the NSF. “It does direct the National Science Foundation to collaborate with other appropriate agencies, and although our bill is bipartisan, I do want to note that while we are working here in good faith together, DOGE and the executive branch has taken a chainsaw to some of the staff at NSF so I am concerned about their capacity to implement this bipartisan effort,” she said.

The bill’s lead sponsor, Rep. Fong, explained the importance of the Academic Research Fleet, an 18-vessel fleet which are “laboratories at sea collecting data that fuels critical decision-making here on land.” These ships conduct research all over the globe, sometimes in remote locations where communication is difficult and they are exposed to unique threats. “Right now, they lack the secure cyber infrastructure needed to protect sensitive data and communicate reliably across global networks,” Rep. Fong said. “That leaves them vulnerable to cyber threats from foreign adversaries.” Rep. Fong encouraged investment in data -- “the heartbeat of scientific progress” -- and the technology to keep that data secure. Rep. Fong also acknowledged the role of Rep. Stevens, who was not able to attend the markup due to another committee meeting, in drafting and supporting the legislation. “I’d like to thank my cosponsor, Rep. Stevens for supporting our bipartisan effort to protect our nation’s scientific edge and security,” he concluded.

The bill was favorably reported by voice vote. View this and other bills in NEMWI’s Great Lakes and Water Legislation Tracker.

NEMWI To Conduct Briefing on GLRI on May 22, Launching Orientation

The Northeast-Midwest Institute will hold a virtual briefing for Congressional staff on the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative on Thursday, May 22^nd, from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. The briefing will kick off NEMWI’s Great Lakes Primer and Orientation Program, which provides an introduction to Great Lakes policy issues to new Congressional staff and offices. The program is made possible with generous support from the Erb Family Foundation.

The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is a cornerstone Great Lakes program that has greatly improved the environmental and economic health of the Great Lakes region since it began in 2010. The GLRI has invested over $4 billion in over 8,000 projects, including restoring habitat, mitigating nutrient runoff, and combatting invasive species. The GLRI also has accelerated progress on Great Lakes Areas of Concern. Since the start of the GLRI in 2010, six AOCs have been delisted and 118 beneficial use impairments have been removed, compared to just one AOC delisted and 10 BUIs removed in the 23 years before the GLRI. A 2018 study found that every dollar invested in the GLRI generates $3.35 in additional economic value.

The briefing will provide an overview of the GLRI and the roles of federal agencies, states, and tribes in administering the program, and will highlight critical GLRI projects and success stories.

Panelists include:

• Environmental Protection Agency Great Lakes National Program Office
• US Army Corps of Engineers, Great Lakes and Ohio River Division
• Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission
• Great Lakes Commission

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