Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Funding for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Civil Works

Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Funding for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Civil Works

Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Funding for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Civil Works

Updated April 18, 2025 (IN11723)

Congress authorizes and funds the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to undertake civil works activities, including planning and construction of water resource projects and maintenance of navigation improvements and other infrastructure.

Division J, Title III, of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA; P.L. 117-58), which became law on November 15, 2021, provided $17.1 billion in emergency appropriations to various USACE accounts (see Figure 1), with the majority going to three accounts:

Construction (68%)

Operation and Maintenance (O&M; 23%)

Mississippi River and Tributaries (MR&T; 5%)

IIJA also provided

$251 million for repair of damages to existing projects, including nonfederal levees and shore protection through the Flood Control and Coastal Emergencies (FCCE) account

$75 million to the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Program (WIFIP) account for USACE to implement a direct loan and loan guarantee program, which IIJA limited to nonfederal dam safety work (similar to a limit applied to annual appropriations from FY2021 through FY2023)

Figure 1. IIJA's USACE Funding in Context of Other USACE Appropriations and
Selected IIJA Designated Uses, by Account

(amounts are nominal and in billions [B] or millions [M] of dollars)

Sources: CRS using P.L. 117-58, P.L. 116-260 (Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021), P.L. 115-123 (Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, BBA 2018), and P.L. 111-5 (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, ARRA).

IIJA Funding in Context

Figure 1 shows IIJA funding in the context of annual civil works appropriations preceding IIJA enactment (FY2021; Division D, Title I, of P.L. 116-260) and two emergency appropriations:

Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (BBA 2018; P.L. 115-123), which funded USACE flood disaster repair and recovery and flood risk management studies and projects

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA; P.L. 111-5), which funded USACE activities for economic stimulus purposes and other policy objectives

As shown in Figure 1, IIJA provided funding equal to multiple years of recent annual appropriations, particularly for the Construction account. Below are some project types that IIJA funded, with FY2021 funding levels provided in parentheses:

$2.50 billion for inland waterways construction ($0.81 billion)

$2.55 billion and $2.50 billion for risk management of coastal floods and inland floods ($0.81 billion and $0.36 billion), respectively

$1.90 billion for aquatic ecosystem restoration ($0.56 billion)

$465 million for continuing authorities programs ($70 million)

$30 million in FY2023 for a new USACE pilot program for flood risk management feasibility studies for economically disadvantaged or rural communities

Similar to other emergency appropriations legislation, Congress applied some but not other statutory requirements and common USACE annual appropriations policy limitations to IIJA funds (see Table 1). IIJA included the following direction for USACE in using the $2.50 billion for inland flood risk construction: prioritize projects benefitting "economically disadvantaged communities," and consider prioritizing projects benefiting areas with minority groups and populations in poverty greater than the national average percentages.

Table 1. Selected Requirements and Policies Applied to Certain USACE Funding

Statutory Requirements or
Other Policies (Source)

IIJA

FY2021

BBA 2018

ARRA

Project Costs and Starts

Limit to increases in project cost without obtaining congressional authorization
(33 U.S.C. §2280)

Not applied

Applied

Not applied

Not applied

Limit to number of construction starts
(annual appropriations bills)

Not applied

Applied
(limit was seven new starts)

Not applied

Applieda
(no new starts)

Trust Fund Contributions

Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF) pays eligible harbor maintenance costs
(33 U.S.C. §2238)

Not applied

Applied

Applied

Applied

Inland Waterways Trust Fund pays a portion of certain waterway construction costs (33 U.S.C. §2212; §109, Division AA, of P.L. 116-260)

Not applied

Applied

NA
(construction funds were for flood activities)

Not applied

Nonfederal Construction Cost Share (e.g., 33 U.S.C. §§2211-2213 for most water resource projects)

Ongoing construction

Appliedb

Applied

Not applied

Applied

New construction

Appliedb

Applied

Applied
(waived for Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands)

Applied

Nonfederal Share of Costs for Repair of Certain Damaged Flood Control Works (33 U.S.C. §701n)

Repairs to damaged shore protection

Not applied

Applied

Not applied

NA

Other eligible repairs (e.g., inland levees)

Applied

Applied

Applied

NA

Sources: CRS using P.L. 117-58; P.L. 116-260; P.L. 115-123; P.L. 111-5; the U.S. Code; U.S. Congress, House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Recovery Act: One-Year Progress Report for Transportation and Infrastructure Investments, hearing, 111th Cong., 2nd sess., February 23, 2010 (Washington, DC: GPO, 2010), p. 102; and USACE, ARRA Financial and Operational Review Report, undated.

Notes: NA = Not applicable.

a. The Administration interpreted ARRA as limiting new construction starts and providing for HMTF contributions.

b. IIJA maintained nonfederal construction cost-share requirements, except for certain projects and assistance related to restoring fish and wildlife passage.

Next Steps

IIJA included account-specific language regarding reporting to congressional appropriations committees. IIJA required the USACE Chief of Engineers to deliver

Spend plans within 60 days of enactment on use of IIJA funds available in FY2022 for the Investigation, O&M, and MR&T accounts and use of IIJA funds available in FY2022, FY2023, and FY2024 for the Construction account

Monthly reports on allocations and obligations for the Investigations, Construction, and MR&T accounts, beginning within 120 days of enactment (March 15, 2022)

Spend plans as part of the President's FY2023 budget request for IIJA FY2023 Investigations and O&M funds and FY2024 budget request for IIJA FY2024 O&M funds

USACE published IIJA spend plans for FY2022, FY2023, and FY2024 that include project names and locations. USACE further published spend plan addendums, which included rescinding allocations for some projects and activities. In FY2024, Congress directed that $1.43 billion from unobligated and unallocated prior year IIJA Construction appropriations fund USACE construction projects and activities listed in the explanatory statement accompanying P.L. 118-42. In the FY2024 Construction work plan, USACE identified which projects received funding from these IIJA appropriations. Pursuant to P.L. 118-42 direction, those projects are "subject to the terms and conditions" of IIJA Construction funding. USACE then published spend plan addendums to allocate any remaining unallocated IIJA Construction funding.