Sponsors (11)
The bill makes it easier to bring non‑Federal money to border water projects and increases transparency, speeding infrastructure delivery and public‑health benefits, but it limits some partners and reimbursements and adds administrative requirements that may constrain or slow participation by certain local or private contributors.
Border communities and local/state governments: Enables funding to build and maintain wastewater, flood control, and water‑conservation projects along the U.S.–Mexico border, improving local water infrastructure and public health.
Local and state governments: Allows non‑Federal grants and funding agreements to supplement federal resources for cross‑border water projects, which can accelerate project delivery and reduce reliance on federal-only funding timelines.
Taxpayers: Requires annual reporting to Congress on accepted funds, activities, and costs, increasing transparency and oversight of non‑Federal contributions and how projects are funded.
Non‑Federal partners (local governments and small businesses): Caps reimbursements or credits to non‑Federal cost‑share at $5,000,000 per fiscal year, limiting cost recovery and potentially discouraging large local or private contributors.
Local governments and border communities: Bans funds from entities tied to defined 'foreign countries of concern,' which could block some international or binational funding sources and complicate useful partnerships for cross‑border projects.
Federal agencies and local governments: New deposit, accounting, and reporting requirements create additional administrative workload for the Commission, Treasury, and recipients, which could slow project start‑up and increase overhead.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Allows the U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission to accept outside funds for water, wastewater, and flood control projects, deposits them into its Treasury account, limits credits, and requires annual reporting.
Introduced March 6, 2025 by Scott Peters · Last progress June 10, 2025
Allows the U.S. section of the International Boundary and Water Commission to accept federal and non-federal money (including grants and funding agreements) to study, design, build, operate, and maintain wastewater treatment, water conservation, flood control, and related projects. Money accepted must be deposited into the Commission’s designated Treasury account and is available until spent; the bill caps reimbursements or credits toward non‑Federal cost‑share at $5 million per fiscal year, bans funds from entities tied to specified foreign “countries of concern,” and requires an annual report describing activities and costs.