Sponsors (4)
The bill improves continuity and capacity for Great Lakes and Lake Champlain conservation and invasive-species work by enabling a designated fiscal agent and direct GLFC funding, but does so with risks of project interruptions, added administrative costs, reduced competition, and coordination burdens for state and Canadian partners.
State and local water programs (and their partners such as nonprofits and universities) will get more stable, continuous funding and less service disruption because an appointed fiscal agent can receive uninterrupted award funding until a replacement is named.
The U.S. Section of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission can directly fund and coordinate fisheries and invasive-species work on Lake Champlain, increasing capacity for sea lamprey control and aquatic invasive species management.
Regular (at least every 5 years) assessments and required reports to congressional committees increase oversight and transparency of fiscal agent selection and performance.
Ongoing projects run by nonprofits, universities, and local governments could be interrupted if prior awards are de‑obligated and re‑obligated to different fiscal agents during transitions despite preferences for continuity.
Taxpayers may face higher administrative costs from more frequent competitive selection processes and transition-related expenses when fiscal agents are replaced.
Granting the Administrator authority to award fiscal-agent responsibilities without competition could reduce competitive transparency and limit opportunities for other qualified organizations or interstate commissions to serve.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Amends Lake Champlain Basin Program law to create a defined fiscal-agent selection/assessment/reporting process, authorize Great Lakes Fishery Commission work in the basin, and add definitions and technical edits.
Amends the federal Lake Champlain Basin Program statute to replace a specific institutional reference with a new, defined “fiscal agent” role and to set a regular process for selecting, assessing, and reporting on that fiscal agent. It also authorizes the U.S. Section of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission to do and fund work in Lake Champlain (including sea lamprey control and other aquatic invasive species activities) and to coordinate with the Basin Program and federal, state, and Canadian partners. The law adds definitions for “fiscal agent” and “Steering Committee,” requires fiscal-agent assessments at least every five years with a 90-day post-assessment reporting requirement to two congressional committees, permits continuity of funding and staff during transitions, allows re-obligation of unobligated or unexpended funds to a newly selected fiscal agent, and makes minor conforming and technical edits to existing subsections.
Official title: Amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to provide for the selection of a fiscal agent for the Patrick Leahy Lake Champlain Basin Program, and for other purposes.
Introduced February 11, 2026 by Peter Welch · Last progress February 11, 2026