NSDA Priority Highlights:

NSDA is working closely with Senator Padilla's team on legislation to "Expand Federal Support for Firefighting Water Infrastructure".  See below for more details.

An NSDA priority bill, we will be watching the House Natural Resources hearing Thursday, January 8 | 10:00 a.m. ET | The Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries will hold an oversight hearing entitled, “Fix Our Forests for Affordable and Reliable Water and Power Supplies.”

Hearing Details

House and Senate Action

Congress returns from its holiday break this week, with the Senate back in session today and the House gaveling in on Tuesday.

House

On Wednesday, the House is expected to consider a partisan bill (H.R. 4593) addressing shower head water flow standards, along with a separate measure (H.R. 5184) related to energy efficiency requirements for manufactured homes. The remainder of the week’s schedule remains fluid. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) has secured the signatures needed for a discharge petition that could force a floor vote on legislation to extend the recently expired Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium subsidies. The House may also take up a newly released appropriations package. The full schedule is available here.

Senate

Across Capitol Hill, the Senate is expected to vote on a resolution that would limit U.S. military action against Venezuela without congressional authorization.

Congressional Outlook

Foreign policy developments are expected to dominate the early year agenda. Following President Donald Trump’s decision to use military force in Venezuela, the Senate is expected to vote this week on a resolution that would limit U.S. military action against Venezuela without congressional authorization. The issue is likely to draw significant debate in both chambers.

On the legislative front, wrapping up the fiscal year 2026 appropriations process remains the most pressing challenge. The current continuing resolution expires at the end of January, leaving Congress less than a month to avert a partial government shutdown. House and Senate appropriators are working to finalize several of the remaining spending bills for the fiscal year that began on October 1, 2025.

Health care policy is also expected to feature prominently. Enhanced ACA premium subsidies expired on January 1, and the House is expected to vote this week on a three-year extension despite opposition from House Republican leaders. For his part, House Minority Leader Jeffries has secured enough signatures for a discharge petition that could force a floor vote. Even if the measure advances in the House, it lacks the necessary support to clear the Senate. Meanwhile, Senate discussions continue around a potential bipartisan compromise that could pair a shorter extension with targeted reforms.

Looking beyond the immediate agenda, lawmakers are also expected to grapple with a range of other priorities in the months ahead, including surface transportation reauthorization, the biennial Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), permitting reform, and competing housing reform proposals.

Congress Releases Three-Bill FY 2026 Funding Package

Ahead of a January 30 government funding deadline, House and Senate appropriators have released the text of a minibus funding package that includes three (of the 12) fiscal year 2026 spending bills, including those covering Energy and Water Development, Commerce-Justice-Science, and Interior-Environment.

These bills fund a wide range of programs critical to a number of special districts, including water infrastructure and Bureau of Reclamation activities, wildfire management and land stewardship programs at the Department of the Interior, Environmental Protection Agency grant programs, and more.

House leaders could bring the package to the floor as early as this week. While passage would reduce the risk of an immediate shutdown, it would not complete the FY 2026 appropriations process. There are six remaining bills, including the largest and most politically complex measures covering Defense, Labor-Health and Human Services, and Homeland Security.

Additional information on the three bills can be found here.

Sen. Padilla Drafting Legislation to Expand Federal Support for Firefighting Water Infrastructure

Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) who is developing legislation to address a long-standing gap in federal support for water infrastructure needed for wildfire response. NSDA is workign closely with the Congressmember to provide feedback on the unique needs of Special Districts as they circulate draft language that would amend the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) to allow funding for certain projects that support both drinking water systems and wildfire suppression.

Under current rules, the DWSRF excludes projects needed primarily for fire protection. The draft proposal would create a narrowly tailored exception for projects that provide both drinking water and wildfire suppression benefits, are located in communities at high wildfire risk, and serve rural areas with populations of 50,000 or less. The limited scope is intentional and reflects committee staff concerns about expanding eligibility to large-scale urban fire suppression infrastructure.

Senator Padilla’s team has begun bipartisan outreach to other Senate offices to gauge interest and build support and is seeking feedback from stakeholders on the draft proposal.