Executive Summary  (for more information scroll down)

Week of January 13–17, 2026

Both chambers of Congress are in session this week, with legislative activity centering on FY 2026 appropriations, infrastructure authorization, and new community resilience initiatives—all of which have potential implications for special districts.

1. Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) 2026

Congressional committees are actively soliciting proposals for WRDA 2026.

• Key Takeaways for Special Districts:
  • WRDA authorizes U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects covering flood protection, ecosystem restoration, inland waterways, and storm resilience.
  • Eligible entities include counties, flood control districts, water agencies, and port authorities—core segments of NSDA’s membership.
  • Projects require a local non-federal sponsor and typically involve cost-sharing agreements.
  • Districts are encouraged to coordinate early with their congressional delegations to submit priority projects through the formal member portal.

2. Wildfire Resilience Legislation

Community Protection and Wildfire Resilience Act (S. 3609 / H.R. 582) — Sponsored by Senators Padilla (D-CA) and Sheehy (R-MT), with companion House legislation.

• Establishes a $1 billion annual FEMA grant program to help communities develop and implement Community Protection and Wildfire Resilience Plans.
• Grants include:
  • Up to $250,000 for planning - Up to $10 million for implementation
• Priority: High-risk, low-income, and recently impacted communities.
• Adds home hardening as an eligible project under the U.S. Forest Service’s Community Wildfire Defense Grant program.
• Relevance for Special Districts: Opens substantial direct grant opportunities for fire protection, water, utility, and emergency service districts, particularly those serving wildfire-prone regions.

3. Congressional Hearings Relevant to Special District Priorities

• House Energy & Commerce (Jan. 13): Legislative hearing on reauthorizing the Rural and Municipal Utility Advanced Cybersecurity (RMUC) Grant Program, supporting cyber resilience for utilities, including public power and water districts.
• House Natural Resources (Jan. 14):
  • Cross-Boundary Wildfire Solutions Act (H.R. 3922): Promotes more efficient federal–local coordination in wildfire mitigation.
  • Wildfire Response and Preparedness (WRAP) Act (H.R. 4038): Establishes a national response time goal for wildland fire, strengthening interagency coordination.
• Senate HELP Committee (Jan. 15): Markup of the Rural Hospital Cybersecurity Enhancement Act (S. 2169), which—while health-focused—underscores growing federal investment in cybersecurity across rural public service infrastructure that can align with district operations.

Key Implications for Special Districts

• Funding Opportunities: Upcoming WRDA 2026 and Wildfire Resilience Act proposals represent major new funding and partnership pathways for special districts.
• Cybersecurity Investments: Continued bipartisan interest in extending federal cyber support to local and special district utilities.
• Appropriations Context: Unresolved DHS funding and potential CR scenarios may temporarily restrict access to certain grant programs, though progress on environmental and water-related appropriations remains encouraging.

Next Steps for NSDA Members

1. Engage congressional offices on WRDA project submissions before late-spring deadlines.
2. Track wildfire resilience legislation for grant eligibility and program rollout timelines.
3. Monitor appropriations outcomes to anticipate funding availability for district-serving federal programs.
4. Stay informed on cybersecurity hearings and potential reauthorization bills benefiting special district utilities.

 

FULL UPDATE

House and Senate Action

The House and Senate are both in session this week.

House

The House gaveled into session earlier today, and lawmakers are slated to consider a handful of noncontroversial bills on the suspension calendar (requires 2/3 majority for passage). Later in the week, the House is expected to consider a two-bill "minibus" spending package (more on this below). The full schedule is available here.

Senate

The Senate will begin consideration of a three-bill FY 2026 spending package that cleared the House last week. The legislation includes funding for the following spending bills: Energy and Water Development, Interior-Environment, and Commerce-Justice-Science.

The chamber is also expected to spend a chunk of the week debating a war powers resolution that would restrict the president from using further military force against Venezuela without congressional authorization. The resolution will be open to amendments, which means Senate Democrats may attempt to modify it by broadening its restrictions to include the deployment of troops to Greenland, Cuba, or Columbia.

On health care, Senate negotiations continue following House passage of a three-year extension of the enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies. While that bill faces long odds in the Senate, lawmakers are exploring potential compromise legislation that would pair an extension with policy reforms.

FY 2026 Appropriations Update

Over the weekend, House and Senate appropriators released another bipartisan "minibus" funding package covering two FY 2026 appropriations bills: State-Foreign Operations and Financial Services. Together, the measures would fund the Departments of State and Treasury through the end of the fiscal year, along with the IRS, the federal judiciary, and the Federal Trade Commission.

The package is expected to be considered on the House floor later this week, though passage could be complicated by objections from fiscal conservatives, particularly over earmarks. Efforts to include a third bill funding the Department of Homeland Security were unsuccessful, leaving DHS funding unresolved amid ongoing disputes over national immigration enforcement policy. As a result, congressional leaders are increasingly signaling that DHS may need to be funded through a full-year continuing resolution.

Meanwhile, the Senate is preparing to take up a separate three-bill FY 2026 minibus that cleared the House last week with broad bipartisan support. That package includes funding for Commerce-Justice-Science, Interior-Environment, and Energy and Water Development, and represents another step toward fully funding the government for the fiscal year.

Despite this progress, significant work remains. Four major FY 2026 appropriations bills have yet to be released, including measures covering defense and most federal health, labor, transportation, education, and housing programs.

The current stopgap funding measure expires on January 30. Absent additional breakthroughs in the coming days, failure to advance the remaining appropriations bills could trigger a partial government shutdown, intensifying pressure on lawmakers as the deadline approaches.

Lawmakers Soliciting WRDA Proposals

Congressional committees have begun gathering input to develop the next Water Resources Development Act (WRDA 2026), continuing a long-standing bipartisan process. Congress has enacted a WRDA every two years since 2014, and the most recent bill (WRDA 2024) was signed into law in January 2025.

WRDA legislation authorizes civil works projects carried out by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, including port and harbor improvements, inland waterways, flood risk management, storm protection, ecosystem restoration, and other water resources infrastructure.

Projects included in WRDA originate at the local level and require a non-federal sponsor (i.e. counties, flood control districts, water agencies, port authorities, etc). Most projects must first receive authorization to conduct a feasibility study, followed by a separate congressional authorization to construct, operate, or maintain the project. Favorable feasibility studies are transmitted to Congress through a Chief’s Report, which can then be considered for inclusion in a future WRDA. Project costs are typically shared between the Corps and the local sponsor

In addition to project authorizations, WRDA bills are a key vehicle for programmatic and policy reforms aimed at streamlining Corps processes, reducing costs, and accelerating project delivery.

Congressional offices are currently able to submit priorities for WRDA 2026 through a formal member portal. Special districts with Corps-related priorities may want to coordinate with their congressional delegations as this process moves forward.

Sens. Padilla, Sheehy Propose Bipartisan Wildfire Resilience Bill

Last week, Senators Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Tim Sheehy (R-MT), co-chairs of the Senate Wildfire Caucus, introduced bipartisan legislation (S. 3609) that would create a new federal grant program focused on community-level wildfire protection. It should be noted that companion legislation (H.R. 582) is championed in the House by Representatives Jared Huffman (D-CA) and Jay Obernolte (R-CA).

The proposed Community Protection and Wildfire Resilience Act would invest $1 billion annually to help communities develop and implement Community Protection and Wildfire Resilience Plans. Pursuant to S. 3609, these plans would be developed in coordination with local residents, first responders, and state agencies, and would emphasize science-based strategies such as home hardening, defensible space, evacuation planning, early detection and alert systems, protection of critical infrastructure, and addressing the needs of vulnerable populations.

Specifically, the bill would establish a new grant program within FEMA that would provide up to $250,000 for plan development and up to $10 million for implementation, with priority given to high-risk, low-income communities and areas recently impacted by major wildfires. The bill would also add home hardening as an allowable project under the U.S. Forest Service’s Community Wildfire Defense Grant program.

A one-page summary of the bill is available here.

Relevant Hearings and Markups

House Education & Workforce

Wednesday, January 14 | 10:15 a.m. ET | The full committee will meet for a hearing entitled, "Building an AI-Ready America."

Hearing Details

House Energy and Commerce

Tuesday, January 13 | 10:15 a.m. ET | The Subcommittee on Energy will hold a legislative hearing entitled, “Protecting America’s Energy Infrastructure in Today’s Cyber and Physical Threat Landscape.” Among the bills to be discussed is draft legislation that would reauthorize the Rural and Municipal Utility Advanced Cybersecurity (RMUC) Grant and Technical Assistance Program. The program provides technical and financial assistance to protect and harden systems against cyber threats and to increase participation in cybersecurity threat information sharing programs.

Wednesday, January 14 | 10:15 a.m. ET | The Subcommittee on Communications and Technology will conduct oversight of the Federal Communications Commission.

Hearing Details

House Natural Resources

Tuesday, January 13 | 2:00 p.m. ET | The Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries will hold an oversight hearing entitled, "Hunting and Fishing Access in the Great American Outdoors."

Wednesday, January 14 | 2:00 p.m. ET | The Subcommittee on Federal Lands will hold a legislative hearing on a slate of bills, including legislation – the Cross-Boundary Wildfire Solutions Act (H.R. 3922) – that would provide recommendations for improving the effectiveness and efficiency of wildfire mitigation across land ownership boundaries by identifying gaps and opportunities in current federal rules and regulations. A separate measure – the Wildfire Response and Preparedness (WRAP) Act (H.R. 4038) – would create a 30-minute national standard response time to the extent practical to any wildland fire on federal land.

Hearing Details

House Oversight and Government Reform

Tuesday, January 13 | 2:00 p.m. ET | The Subcommittee on Government Operations will hold a hearing to examine innovative tools to detect and prevent fraud in federal programs.

Hearing Details

House Science, Space, and Technology

Wednesday, January 14 | 10:00 a.m. ET | The Subcommittee on Research and Technology will hear from White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Michael Kratsios on "Advancing America's AI Action Plan."

Hearing Details

Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions

Thursday, January 15 | 10:00 a.m. ET | The panel will consider four bills, including legislation – the Rural Hospital Cybersecurity Enhancement Act (S. 2169) – that would direct the Department of Health and Human Services to develop a comprehensive strategy to address the growing need for skilled cybersecurity professionals in rural hospitals. 

Markup Details