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June 9, 2021
Army Corps of Engineers: FY2022 Budget Request
Congress generally funds the civil works activities of the
Figure 2). The Administration also is proposing seven new
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in annual Energy
studies and four new construction projects (referred to as
and Water Development appropriations acts. These
new starts). Budget requests in recent years included no
activities include the planning and construction of
new starts, and Congress regularly has added funding for a
authorized water resource projects and the operation and
specific number of new starts. The FY2022 request also
maintenance of infrastructure and navigation improvements
lowers the benefit-cost ratio (BCR) threshold used by recent
managed by USACE. For USACE civil works, President
Administrations for funding navigation and flood risk
Biden requested $6.79 billion for FY2022. As shown in
reduction construction projects. The FY2022 request uses a
Figure 1, Congress typically funds USACE above the
BCR threshold of greater than 2.0 to 1 (i.e., benefits are at
President’s request. For FY2021, Congress provided $7.80
least two times project costs), with some exceptions;
billion (31% above the FY2021 request) in Division D,
previous requests often used 2.5 to 1.
Title I of P.L. 116-260.
Figure 2. USACE Appropriations, FY2017-FY2021,
Figure 1. Annual USACE Requests and
and FY2022 Request, by Account
Appropriations, FY2012-FY2022
(nominal $, in billions)
(nominal $, in billions)
Source: CRS.
Source: Congressional Research Service (CRS).
Notes: ASA = Assistant Secretary of the Army; FUSRAP = Formerly
Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program; Regulatory = Regulatory
USACE Funding and FY2022 Request
Program; Req = Request; WIFIA = Water Infrastructure Finance and
Unlike many of the federal agencies that support
Innovation Act. The FY2022 budget request proposes to transfer
infrastructure investments by distributing funds to
FUSRAP to the Department of Energy. Although the FY2022 request
nonfederal entities by formula or through competitive grant
includes a proposal to fund certain expenses directly from two
programs, USACE directly commits funds for project
navigation trust funds, the funding request for FY2022 is shown using
planning and construction. It uses most of its appropriations
traditional USACE accounts.
for work on specific studies and projects authorized by
Congress. The costs for these activities are often shared
Congressional y Directed Funding
with nonfederal project sponsors or users. For more on the
The 117th Congress is pursuing inclusion of congressionally
USACE appropriations process and related issues, s ee CRS
directed funding for site-specific projects (community
Report R46320, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Annual
project funding) in the FY2022 appropriations process.
Appropriations Process and Issues for Congress.
From the 112th to the 116th Congresses, moratorium policies
limited congressionally directed funding of these projects,
Similar to budget requests by previous Administrations, a
which are sometimes referred to as earmarks. Prior to the
majority of President Biden’s FY2022 USACE budget
112th Congress, Congress would direct funds to specific
request would fund maintaining the performance of existing
projects not included in the budget request or would
infrastructure, as reflected by the share of funds requested
increase funds for certain projects. Each year since FY2011,
for operations and maintenance (i.e., the O&M account; see
Congress has appropriated additional funding for categories
https://crsreports.congress.gov
Army Corps of Engineers: FY2022 Budget Request
of USACE work without identifying specific projects. For
selects Anacostia Watershed Restoration, MD, as a new
example, in FY2021, Congress provided $2.25 billion in
construction start and would fund construction for
additional funding for USACE to distribute to specific
Louisiana Coastal Area Ecosystem Restoration for the first
projects in a work plan. For FY2022, it remains to be seen
time since FY2017.
whether Congress will (1) fund additional geographically
specific projects that are not in the budget request; (2)
Continuing Authorities Programs
provide additional funds in broad categories and direct
President Biden’s FY2022 request includes $4.5 million for
USACE to develop a work plan for distributing funds to
four of the nine authorized Continuing Authorities
individual projects (as has previously been the case); or (3)
Programs (CAPs). CAPs allow USACE to plan and
execute a combination of the two approaches.
construct projects of limited scope and cost without further
authorization (see CRS In Focus IF11106, Army Corps of
Navigation Improvements
Engineers: Continuing Authorities Programs).
The FY2022 budget requests $3.44 billion for navigation,
including $2.26 billion for coastal navigation and harbors
Actions to Address Climate Resilience and
and $1.19 billion for inland and intracoastal waterways.
Disadvantaged Communities
Some of these activities are funded by trust funds, and the
The FY2022 budget includes up to $105 million in funding
request proposes to create separate accounts for the funds.
related to climate resilience for USACE O&M and project
planning and for community technical assistance. The
The Inland Waterway Trust Fund (IWTF) is authorized to
budget also indicates that USACE is examining various
contribute 35% to the construction of federally authorized
programmatic activities to determine whether the activities
inland and intracoastal waterway projects through FY2031
benefit disadvantaged communities and to better track such
(after which it reverts to 50%). The IWTF receives
expenditures.
collections from a $0.29 per gallon fuel tax on commercial
vessels on designated waterways. The Office of
Civil Works Infrastructure Financing Program
Management and Budget estimates the IWTF balance is to
In 2014, the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation
be $127 million at the end of FY2021, and IWTF receipts
Act (WIFIA; 33 U.S.C. §§3901-3914, as amended)
and interest in FY2022 are estimated at $106 million. The
authorized USACE to provide credit assistance, in the form
FY2021 request would use $52 million from the IWTF.
of secured or direct loans, for a range of water resource
projects. In FY2021, Congress created a new WIFIA
The Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF) receives the
account and funded the program at $14.2 million. Of this
collections from the Harbor Maintenance Tax (HMT),
amount, $12 million was specifically for nonfederal dam
which is applied principally to imported and domestic
owners for dam safety projects and $2.2 million was for
waterborne cargo at coastal and Great Lakes ports.
USACE administrative expenses. President Biden’s
Congress has authorized the use of HMTF monies for
FY2022 request would not fund the WIFIA account; at a
certain coastal navigation and harbor O&M activities. In
May 2021 press conference, the agency explained that
most years since the early 1990s, annual HMT collections
USACE continues to work on establishing the USACE’s
and interest on the HMTF balance exceeded annual
WIFIA program, also named by USACE as the Civil Works
spending on HMTF-eligible activities, resulting in an
Infrastructure Financing Program (see CRS Insight
anticipated $9.2 billion HMTF balance at the end of
IN11577, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works
FY2021. Due to provisions enacted in Section 14003 of
Infrastructure Financing Program (CWIFP): Status and
P.L. 116-136 and WRDA 2020, use of some HMTF funds
Issues).
no longer counts toward annual budget caps (see CRS In
Focus IF11700, Water Resources Development Act of
American Jobs Plan and USACE Backlog
2020). The Administration projects FY2022 HMTF
The FY2022 budget request references USACE activities
revenues of $1.97 billion, which would exceed the
that are included in the Biden Administration’s American
President’s FY2022 request of $1.63 billion for HMTF-
Jobs Plan proposed in March 2021. A persistent challenge
eligible activities.
for USACE is how to address its backlog of $109 billion (as
estimated by USACE in 2021) in USACE construction
Flood Risk and Coastal Storm Damage Reduction
activities for specifically authorized projects and dam safety
The FY2022 request for flood risk reduction is $1.72
modifications. At times, Congress has provided USACE
billion, of which $1.68 billion is for inland projects
with supplemental appropriations, typically for flood
(including $654 million for inland construction projects).
response and recovery but also for economic stimulus and
The request includes $37 million for coastal storm damage
security investments (see CRS In Focus IF11435,
reduction (with no funding for construction in this amount).
Supplemental Appropriations for Army Corps Flood
Four of the seven new study starts in the budget request are
Response and Recovery).
for flood and storm damage reduction, including a Great
Lakes Coastal Resiliency study.
Anna E. Normand, Analyst in Natural Resources Policy
Ecosystem Restoration
Nicole T. Carter, Specialist in Natural Resources Policy
For FY2022, President Biden requests $498 million for
IF11846
USACE ecosystem restoration efforts, of which $350
million is for Everglades restoration. The budget request
https://crsreports.congress.gov
Army Corps of Engineers: FY2022 Budget Request
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