WASHINGTON — Florida lawmakers say a looming $1 trillion infrastructure bill has enough money in it to cover the federal government’s share of Everglades restoration projects — but the ultimate say on how the money is spent is up to the Army Corps of Engineers, a federal agency that has long been a target of anger from Florida Republicans and Democrats alike.
During a meeting of Florida’s 27-member U.S. House delegation on Wednesday, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz said a bipartisan infrastructure bill that’s currently in procedural limbo but expected to pass includes nearly $13 billion in funds that could be spent on the Everglades.
That’s more than enough for the federal government to cover its $5 billion share for approved Everglades restoration projects, Wasserman Schultz said. The money will come from an $11.6 billion funding pot for the Army Corps of Engineers and $1.9 billion for aquatic ecosystem restoration projects.
“They can spend $5 billion over five years, they’ve acknowledged that they have the capacity,” Wasserman Schultz said of the Army Corps’ Jacksonville District, which is responsible for protecting waterways in Florida. “We want to make sure that outside the appropriations process that we get our share, get the federal share of Everglades restoration funding back in balance and we get us considerably down the pathway to finishing all of our projects.”
The argument from Florida lawmakers is that Everglades projects are already approved by Congress and have been delayed for years, meaning if the Corps allocates funds to other projects that need approval it will result in delays across the board.
During the Florida delegation meeting, the first gathering since former Florida delegation co-chairman Alcee Hastings died in April, Miami Republican U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez pressed Colonel James L. Booth, the new Jacksonville District commander for the Army Corps, on how quickly it can spend money Congress sends its way.
“Everglades restoration is very important for me and all the people I represent. Are we on time with the projects that are in the books?” Gimenez asked Booth, prompting sarcastic laughter from Wasserman Schultz.
The comprehensive Everglades plan, which was authorized by Congress in 2000, has faced numerous delays.
Gimenez then asked Booth how much federal money is needed to complete authorized projects and the entire the Everglades restoration project, where costs are split evenly between the federal government and the state of Florida.
Booth replied that $5 billion is needed to finish projects that have already been approved and $10 billion total will be needed from the federal government to finish the entire project.
“Could you reduce the amount of federal funding if we front-loaded that?” Gimenez asked. “If we gave you more money quicker would it reduce the cost at the end?”
Booth said that the $5 billion and $10 billion figures assume that future projects will be completed on time. Any further delays will result in more money being spent.
The prospect of Everglades restoration funding in an infrastructure bill that already passed the U.S. Senate and awaits consideration in the U.S. House is a different approach than what Florida Democrats pursued in August. All 10 of Florida’s House Democrats wrote congressional leaders of their desire to get $5 billion for Everglades restoration in a larger social spending bill that is still being debated by progressive and centrist Democrats.
Now, Wasserman Schultz says the money is there inside the separate infrastructure bill that has received some Republican support. The larger social spending bill, which contains billions to fight climate change and expand the social safety net, is not expected to get any Republican votes in Washington.
But Wasserman Schultz acknowledged that the only way to get the Corps to spend a broader pot of money on the Everglades is through public pressure, saying it will take “hearings, language in the appropriations bills, pressure on the administration, communication with the administration, and working together in a bipartisan way.”
“We do have the ability to give guidance and direction to the Corps in the appropriations process,” said Wasserman Schultz, who sits on the federal committee responsible for spending decisions.
Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio in August tried and failed to get specific language in the infrastructure bill that would have included $5 billion for Everglades restoration.
But now Republicans, Democrats and the Corps are in agreement that $5 billion is the right amount of federal money needed to complete approved projects like the massive reservoir approved by Congress in 2018 that’s being built just south of Lake Okeechobee to clean polluted water before it reaches the Everglades.
“As a delegation we need to pressure, insist,” Wasserman Schultz said. (The Corps) “have total discretion over where those funds go and making sure that they allocate those funds so we can make sure we keep the Everglades restoration plan on the timeline we’re on now.”
Wasserman Schultz and Gimenez showed the long-standing frustration that lawmakers from both parties have with the Army Corps, which can choose to spend money on other federal water projects instead of the Everglades.
“I would usually say with all due respect but those are tough words when it comes to the Corps,” Wasserman Schultz said to Booth. “The Corps is an interesting entity and no matter what party holds the White House they continue to be the most infuriating federal agency.”
