U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Annual Appropriations Process
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Annual
October 17, 2022
Appropriations Process
Anna E. Normand
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is an agency within the Department of Defense
Analyst in Natural
with both military and civil works responsibilities. The agency’s civil works activities consist
Resources Policy
largely of the planning, construction, and operation of water resource projects to maintain
navigable channels, reduce the risk of flood and storm damage, and restore aquatic ecosystems.
Nicole T. Carter
Congress directs USACE’s civil works activities through authorization legislation, annual and
Specialist in Natural
supplemental appropriations, and oversight.
Resources Policy
Unlike federal funding for highways and municipal water infrastructure, most federal funds
provided to USACE are not distributed by formula to states or through competitive grant
programs. Instead, USACE generally is directly engaged in the planning and construction of
projects. The majority of the agency’s appropriations are used to perform work on geographically specific studies and
congressionally authorized projects. Between FY2008 and FY2022, USACE discretionary appropriations funded through
Title I of annual Energy and Water Development appropriations acts have ranged from $4.72 billion in FY2013 to $8.34
billion in FY2022. Congress has also provided USACE with emergency supplemental appropriations (see CRS In Focus
IF11945, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Supplemental Appropriations for more information).
For the last decade, USACE’s annual appropriations process generally has involved three major milestones: the President’s
budget request, congressional deliberation and enactment of appropriations, and Administration development of a USACE
work plan. Each of the milestones is accompanied by various documents, such as USACE budget justifications,
congressional conference reports, and USACE work plans.
Figure 1. Appropriations Process Milestones for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Source: Congressional Research Service.
The process begins for an upcoming fiscal year with the submission of the President’s budget request, typically in early
February; that is, the request for a fiscal year is submitted roughly eight months before the start of that fiscal year. The
request’s appendix includes requested funding levels for different USACE accounts (e.g., Investigations, Construction,
Operation and Maintenance). USACE also releases more detailed documents (i.e., press book, budget justifications)
providing information on the projects that the request would fund. Congress may consider the President’s budget request,
Member requests (e.g., Community Project Funding [CPF] and Congressional Directed Spending [CDS] requests),
stakeholder interests, and other factors when creating an annual Energy and Water Development appropriations bill and its
USACE civil works title. In reports accompanying appropriations bills, Congress provides direction to USACE on how to
allocate enacted appropriations to various USACE activities and types of projects, including funding of CPF/CDS studies and
projects. In the months following enactment, the Administration develops a work plan to allocate additional funding to
specific studies and projects that aligns with congressional direction.
Congressional Research Service
link to page 4 link to page 4 link to page 5 link to page 7 link to page 8 link to page 11 link to page 12 link to page 13 link to page 14 link to page 2 link to page 7 link to page 9 link to page 9 link to page 11 link to page 13 link to page 13 link to page 15 link to page 17 link to page 9 link to page 9 link to page 18 link to page 16 link to page 18 link to page 19 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Annual Appropriations Process
Contents
Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1
USACE Primer .......................................................................................................................... 1
Annual Congressional Appropriations Process for USACE Funding ............................................. 2
President’s Budget Request ....................................................................................................... 4
Annual Congressional Appropriation Acts ................................................................................ 5
Community Project Funding/Congressionally Directed Spending ..................................... 8
Additional Funding ............................................................................................................. 9
New Starts ......................................................................................................................... 10
Agency Work Plan ................................................................................................................... 11
Figures
Figure 1. Appropriations Process Milestones for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers .................... 2
Figure 2. Appropriations Process Timeline, FY2020-FY2022 ........................................................ 4
Figure 3. Budget Request and Annual Appropriations for USACE Civil Works, FY2008-
FY2022 ......................................................................................................................................... 6
Figure 4. Percent of USACE Annual Appropriations by Account, FY2008-FY2022 ..................... 8
Figure 5. USACE Annual Appropriations for Individual Studies and Projects, FY2012-
FY2022 ....................................................................................................................................... 10
Figure 6. Percent of USACE Annual Appropriations by Business Line, FY2008-FY2022 .......... 12
Figure A-1. FY2022 Enacted Annual Appropriations Business Line/Account Crosswalk ........... 14
Tables
Table 1. USACE Civil Works Account Descriptions and Annual Appropriations, FY2020-
FY2022 ......................................................................................................................................... 6
Table B-1. Additional Funding Categories and Amounts .............................................................. 15
Appendixes
Appendix A. USACE Business Line/Account Crosswalk ............................................................. 13
Appendix B. Additional Funding Categories and Amounts .......................................................... 15
Contacts
Author Information ........................................................................................................................ 16
Congressional Research Service
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Annual Appropriations Process
Introduction
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is an agency within the Department of Defense
with both military and civil works responsibilities. Congress directs USACE’s civil works
activities through authorization legislation, annual and supplemental appropriations, and
oversight activities.1 This report summarizes USACE’s annual discretionary appropriations for
civil works activities, which typically are funded through Title I of annual Energy and Water
Development appropriations acts.2 In particular, the report focuses on the appropriations process
through discussions of three major milestones: President’s budget request, congressional
appropriations process, and annual USACE work plan.
USACE Primer
A military Chief of Engineers commands USACE’s civil and military operations. The Assistant
Secretary of the Army for Civil Works (ASACW) provides civilian oversight of USACE. The
agency’s responsibilities are organized into eight geographically based divisions, which are
further divided into 38 districts.3
As part of USACE’s civil works activities, Congress has authorized and appropriated funds for
the agency to perform the following:
water resource projects for maintaining navigable channels and harbors, reducing
risk of flood and storm damage, and restoring aquatic ecosystems, among other
purposes;
environmental infrastructure assistance;4
regulation of activities affecting certain waters and wetlands activities;5
1 For a primer and resources on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer’s (USACE’s) civil works activities, see CRS Insight
IN11810, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works: Primer and Resources, by Anna E. Normand and Nicole T.
Carter.
2 For more information on the Energy and Water appropriations acts, see CRS Report R46857, Energy and Water
Development: FY2022 Appropriations, by Mark Holt, Corrie E. Clark, and Anna E. Normand.
3 A USACE division map and district links are available at https://www.usace.army.mil/Locations.aspx. Districts and
divisions perform both military and civil works activities and are led by Army officers. The lead officer typically is in a
district or division leadership position for three years.
4 Since 1992, Congress has authorized, and in most years funded, USACE assistance with planning, design, and
construction of municipal drinking water and wastewater infrastructure projects in designated communities, counties,
and states (broadly known as environmental infrastructure, or EI). USACE’s EI assistance supports publicly owned
and operated facilities, such as distribution and collection works, stormwater collection, recycled water distribution,
and surface water protection and development projects. For more information on EI assistance, see CRS Report
R47162, Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Environmental Infrastructure (EI) Assistance: Authorities,
Appropriations, and Issues for Congress, by Anna E. Normand.
5 USACE’s regulatory responsibilities for navigable waters extend to issuing permits for private actions that may affect
navigation, wetlands, and other waters of the United States. Prominent among these responsibilities is USACE
administration of §404 of the Clean Water Act. For more information on these permitting responsibilities, see CRS In
Focus IF11339, Waters of the United States (WOTUS): Repealing and Revising the 2015 Clean Water Rule, by Laura
Gatz and Stephen P. Mulligan; and CRS Report R44880, Oil and Natural Gas Pipelines: Role of the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers, by Nicole T. Carter et al.
Congressional Research Service
1
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Annual Appropriations Process
remediation of sites involved in the development of U.S. nuclear weapons from
the 1940s through the 1960s, administered under the Formerly Utilized Sites
Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP);6 and
the Corps Water Infrastructure Financing Program (CWIFP) funded through the
Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Program (WIFIP) account.7
Annual Congressional Appropriations Process for
USACE Funding
Congress generally funds USACE civil works through Title I of annual Energy and Water
Development appropriations acts. Unlike federal funding for highways and municipal water
infrastructure, the majority of federal funds provided to USACE are not distributed by formula to
states or through competitive grant programs. Instead, USACE generally expends the
appropriations on its congressionally authorized water resource projects.8 That is, the majority of
USACE’s appropriations are for the planning, construction, and operation of the agency’s water
resource projects, such as multipurpose dams and commercial navigation improvements along
coasts and inland waterways. Each year, some USACE projects receive construction funds;
however, many authorized USACE construction projects have not been federally funded for years
after their authorization.9 In addition to funding the agency’s water resource activities, Congress
has provided funding to USACE for environmental infrastructure assistance activities, CWIFP,
USACE regulatory activities, and FUSRAP.
Most USACE activities require a nonfederal sponsor to share some portion of project costs. For
some project types (e.g., levees), nonfederal sponsors are required to perform operation,
6 The Atomic Energy Commission established the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP) in
1974 under the Atomic Energy Act (42 U.S.C. §§2011 et seq.) to investigate the need for remediation at privately
owned or operated sites that supported the development of U.S. nuclear weapons from the 1940s to the 1960s. The
Department of Energy (DOE) assumed administration of FUSRAP, pursuant to the Department of Energy Organization
Act of 1977 (P.L. 95-91). The Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 1998 (P.L. 105-62) authorized the
transfer of 21 FUSRAP sites where remediation was not yet complete from DOE to USACE. DOE retained
responsibility for the long-term stewardship of 25 FUSRAP sites where remediation was complete and responsibility
for the remediation and long-term stewardship of federal facilities involved in the development of U.S. nuclear
weapons. USACE later became responsible for the remediation of eight other sites added to FUSRAP. After USACE
completes the remediation of a site, jurisdiction is transferred back to DOE for long-term stewardship. For information
on the status of FUSRAP, see https://www.usace.army.mil/Missions/Environmental/FUSRAP.aspx. Although this
report references USACE’s FUSRAP and regulatory accounts, the report’s discussion focuses on annual appropriations
for the agency’s water resource projects. Lance Larson, CRS Analyst in environmental policy, covers FUSRAP
activities.
7 For more information, see CRS Insight IN12021, Corps Water Infrastructure Financing Program (CWIFP), by
Nicole T. Carter.
8 Congress generally authorizes USACE water resource studies and construction projects prior to funding them. For
information on the authorization process, see CRS Report R45185, Army Corps of Engineers: Water Resource
Authorization and Project Delivery Processes, by Nicole T. Carter and Anna E. Normand.
9 According to USACE, authorized construction projects and rehabilitation and repair work totaled an estimated $110
billion in 2021. Testimony of USACE Chief of Engineers Scott A. Spellmon at U.S. Congress, House Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure, Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment, President Biden’s Fiscal Year
2022 Budget Request: Agency Policies and Perspectives (Part I), 117th Cong., 1st sess., June 24, 2021. This is often
referred to as the agency’s construction backlog. Since that June 2021 estimate, Congress has provided funding for
USACE construction projects in FY2022 annual appropriations and in supplemental appropriations acts. As of
September 2022, USACE had not updated its 2021 construction backlog estimate (information provided to CRS by
USACE on September 20, 2022).
Congressional Research Service
2
link to page 7 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Annual Appropriations Process
maintenance, repairs, replacement, and rehabilitation of the works once construction is
complete.10 Some USACE activities also are supported by two navigation trust funds, as
described in the text box titled “Navigation Funding and Navigation Trust Funds.”
Navigation Funding and Navigation Trust Funds
Two congressionally authorized trust funds support U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) navigation activities.
These funds cover a portion of the amount that USACE spends on navigation improvements annual y.
The Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF; 26 U.S.C. §9505) pays for investments in federal navigation
coastal channel and harbor operation and maintenance (O&M). The HMTF receives revenues from taxes on
waterborne commercial cargo imports, domestic cargo, and cruise ship passengers at federally maintained
ports.
The Inland Waterways Trust Fund (IWTF; 26 U.S.C. §9506) receives proceeds of a tax on barge fuel for
vessels engaged in commercial transport on 27 designated inland and intracoastal waterways. Since 1986
(with exceptions that are noted below), Congress generally has required that construction and major
rehabilitation for inland and intracoastal waterways be paid for 50% from the General Fund of the U.S.
Treasury and 50% from the IWTF.
Both trust funds require annual appropriations language instructing that funds for eligible activities are to be drawn
from the trust fund accounts. As a result, funds drawn from the IWTF and the HMTF have historically fallen within
congressional budget caps on discretionary spending and procedural limits for allocations of budget authority for a
fiscal year (often referred to as 302(b) allocations).
The HMTF had a balance of nearly $10 bil ion at the start of 2020, as funds drawn from the fund had been less
than amounts accrued. In the CARES Act (P.L. 116-136) and the Water Resources Development Act of 2020
(WRDA 2020; Division AA of P.L. 116-260), Congress provided for an accounting change that makes certain
amounts of discretionary spending from the HMTF not count toward the discretionary budget cap. For FY2022
appropriations, HMTF provided $2.049 bil ion toward eligible USACE O&M of which roughly $2.038 bil ion did
not count toward the budget cap. In total, USACE used $2.839 bil ion of FY2022 annual appropriation toward
studies, construction, and O&M of federal navigation coastal channels and harbors. The Infrastructure Investment
and Jobs Act (IIJA; P.L. 117-58) funded harbor maintenance at $2.000 bil ion for FY2022, $1.000 bil ion for FY2023,
and $1.000 bil ion for FY2024; the IIJA did not require an HMTF contribution toward these costs.
Congress authorized a $0.09 per gallon increase in the fuel tax, resulting in a barge fuel tax of $0.29 per gallon
beginning in April 2015. Since FY2014, Congress has reduced the IWTF-required portion of funds for certain
waterway construction projects, thereby increasing the funds for inland waterway construction that come from
the General Fund. Congress in WRDA 2020 decreased the IWTF contribution from 50% to 35% for any inland
navigation construction project receiving construction appropriations during any fiscal year from FY2021 through
FY2031 until the project’s construction is complete. As part of annual appropriations provided for FY2022, the
IWTF paid for $72 mil ion of the total $205 mil ion USACE used for inland waterway construction. In total,
USACE used $1.293 bil ion of FY2022 annual appropriations for studies, construction, and O&M of inland and
intracoastal waterways. The IIJA also funded inland waterway construction at $2.500 bil ion; the IIJA did not
require an IWTF contribution toward these costs.
For the last decade, the annual appropriations process generally has involved three major
milestones: the President’s budget request, congressional deliberation and enactment of
appropriations, and Administration development of a USACE work plan (see Figure 2). The
process begins with the release of the President’s budget request, typically in early February (i.e.,
roughly eight months before the start of the fiscal year addressed by the request), although the
request is sometimes delayed.11 Congress may consider the President’s budget request, Member
requests (including Community Project Funding [CPF] and Congressional Directed Spending
[CDS] requests), stakeholder interests, and other factors when creating an annual Energy and
Water Development appropriations bill that includes USACE civil works activities. The length of
10 For more information on nonfederal cost-share requirements, see CRS Report R45185, Army Corps of Engineers:
Water Resource Authorization and Project Delivery Processes, by Nicole T. Carter and Anna E. Normand.
11 Sometimes the President is delayed in releasing the request in early February. For example, in the past, the request
has been delayed during the first year of a new Administration, such as for the FY2022 budget request.
Congressional Research Service
3
link to page 7
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Annual Appropriations Process
the congressional appropriations process varies from year to year, as shown in Figure 2.
Following enactment of the Energy and Water Development bill, the Administration develops a
USACE work plan based on instructions by Congress to allocate additional funding to specific
studies and projects. The following sections describe these major milestones in more detail.
Figure 2. Appropriations Process Timeline, FY2020-FY2022
Source: Congressional Research Service (CRS) using appropriations laws, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
(USACE) press documents, and USACE budget documents, at https://www.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/
Budget/.
Notes: Orange = month that the President’s Budget is delivered to Congress; Green = month that Congress
enacted appropriations act; Purple = month that USACE releases annual work plan.
Supplemental Appropriations for USACE
Congress has occasionally also provided USACE with emergency supplemental appropriations. For example, the
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA; P.L. 117-58) provided $17.1 bil ion for infrastructure investments
spanning USACE’s navigation, flood, and aquatic ecosystem restoration activities. While the majority of USACE’s
IIJA funding became available for USACE to apply to projects in FY2022, a portion of the funds were provided as
appropriations available starting in FY2023 and FY2024. While the IIJA focused on infrastructure investment,
Congress at times uses supplemental appropriations to fund USACE’s response to floods. Most of these flood-
related supplemental funds are directed to repairing damage to existing USACE facilities, paying for flood fighting
and repair of certain levees and dams maintained by nonfederal entities, and constructing new riverine and coastal
flood control improvements.
Notes: For more information, see CRS Insight IN11723, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) Funding for U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Civil Works: Policy Primer, by Nicole T. Carter and Anna E. Normand; and CRS In
Focus IF11945, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Supplemental Appropriations, by Nicole T. Carter and Anna E.
Normand.
President’s Budget Request
The President’s budget request for USACE typically includes funding at the account level (i.e.,
Investigation, Construction, and Operation and Maintenance), as shown in the appendix to the
President’s FY2020 budget request.12 The agency’s budget justification includes more detailed
12 The portion of the appendix of the President’s FY2022 budget request related to USACE is available at
https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/BUDGET-2022-APP/BUDGET-2022-APP-1-20.
Congressional Research Service
4
link to page 9 link to page 9 link to page 9 link to page 9 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Annual Appropriations Process
information regarding the request by providing information for specific activities, such as the
level of funding requested for particular USACE studies and construction projects.13 USACE also
publishes a summary of this information in a document it refers to as the press book. The press
book shows the requested funding for USACE projects for each state and identifies how the
President’s requests for various accounts are distributed across the agency’s business lines (i.e.,
types of activities, such as navigation, restoration, and recreation) in a crosswalk.14
In recent years, the executive branch has used various metrics, including benefit-cost ratios and
other performance criteria, to identify which projects and activities to include in the President’s
request. For example, to identify operation and maintenance investments, the Administration’s
budget development guidance has used risk assessments, which consist of an evaluation of an
existing project’s condition and the consequences of reduced project performance (i.e., the
consequence of not making an investment). USACE budget development guidance describes
these metrics and other aspects of the budget development process each year.15 Some
Administrations’ requests also have limited funding for new starts to focus on completing existing
projects and address aging infrastructure.
Annual Congressional Appropriation Acts
From FY2008 to FY2022, Congress provided USACE with annual appropriations ranging from
$4.72 billion (in FY2013) to $8.34 billion (in FY2022) in nominal dollars.16 As shown in Figure
3, since FY2008, Congress has provided more for USACE civil works annual appropriations than
the President requested in all but one year. Figure 3 also shows a line illustrating the FY2008
through FY2021 annual appropriations in FY2021 dollars (i.e., the amounts have been inflation-
adjusted to reflect 2021 as the base year).17 Figure 3 does not include supplemental
appropriations in these fiscal years.
13 The detailed budget justification may be available the same day the President’s budget request is released or within a
few weeks of the budget request’s release. USACE posts its budget justifications, along with other budget documents,
at http://www.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Budget/.
14 Although some business line activities (e.g., navigation, flood damage reduction, restoration, recreation) are spread
across accounts (e.g., Investigations, Construction, Operation and Maintenance), other business line activities and
accounts are the same (e.g., FUSRAP, regulatory, expenses). The press book is published at
http://www.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Budget/.
15 For example, see USACE, Civil Works Direct Program Development Policy Guidance, EC 11-2-225, March 2022, at
https://www.publications.usace.army.mil/Portals/76/Users/182/86/2486/EC%2011-2-225.pdf. For more on benefit-cost
ratios, see CRS Report R44594, Discount Rates in the Economic Evaluation of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Projects,
by Nicole T. Carter and Adam C. Nesbitt.
16 The amounts discussed in this report are nominal unless otherwise stated.
17 When inflation-adjusted amounts are provided in this report, the appropriated amounts were adjusted to 2021 dollars
using U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis, National Income and Product Accounts, Table
1.1.9. FY2022 amounts were not adjusted.
Congressional Research Service
5
link to page 9 link to page 11 link to page 12
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Annual Appropriations Process
Figure 3. Budget Request and Annual Appropriations for USACE Civil Works,
FY2008-FY2022
($ in billions, nominal)
Source: CRS, using budget authority identified in enacted appropriations and Administration budget requests.
Notes: Budget authority shown does not include supplemental appropriations. Amounts adjusted to 2021
dol ars using U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis, National Income and Product
Accounts, Table 1.1.9.
In the text of enacted appropriations laws, Congress generally provides appropriations to USACE
at the account level (see Table 1 for a description of the accounts and their FY2020-FY2022
appropriations amounts). Accompanying appropriations reports (i.e., conference reports,
committee reports, or explanatory statements), which sometimes are incorporated into law by
reference, often identify specific USACE studies, projects, and programs to receive appropriated
funds (see section on “Community Project Funding/Congressionally Directed Spending”) and
amounts of “additional funding” for USACE to allocate to studies and programs in a work plan
(see section on “Additional Funding”).
Table 1. USACE Civil Works Account Descriptions and Annual Appropriations,
FY2020-FY2022
($ in millions, nominal)
Account
Description
FY2020
FY2021
FY2022
Investigations
Funds studies for authorized projects and
151
153
143
programs and may fund preconstruction
engineering and design work.
Construction
Funds implementation for new and continuing
2,681
2,693
2,493
construction, reconstruction, continuing
authorities programs, environmental
infrastructure assistance, major rehabilitation,
dam safety assurance, dredge material disposal
facilities, and deficiency correction of projects.
Congressional Research Service
6
link to page 11 link to page 11 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Annual Appropriations Process
Account
Description
FY2020
FY2021
FY2022
Mississippi River and
Funds projects and programs on the Mississippi
375
380
370
Tributaries (MR&T)
River main stem and its tributaries; the
account combines Investigations, Construction,
and O&M activities.
Operation and
Funds operation, maintenance, and related
3,790
3,850
4,570
Maintenance (O&M)
activities at water resource projects that
USACE operates and maintains (e.g.,
multipurpose dams, navigation channels).
Flood Control and Coastal
Funds USACE’s authorized emergency
35
35
35
Emergencies (FCCE)
response and repair activities. Annual
appropriations primarily used for emergency
flood response preparedness. Supplemental
appropriations typically fund the flood
response and repair activities.
Regulatory
Funds activities for USACE regulatory
210
210
212
responsibilities, such as Section 404 Clean
Water Act permits.
Formerly Utilized Sites
Funds remedial activities at sites contaminated
200
250
300
Remedial Action Program
primarily as a result of the United States’ early
(FUSRAP)
atomic weapons development program.
General Expenses
Funds development and execution of the civil
203
206
208
works program, as well as oversight of the civil
works program missions.
Assistant Secretary of the
Funds the Office of the ASACW, whose
5
5
5
Army (Civil Works;
responsibilities include policy direction and
ASACW)
oversight of the civil works program.
Water Infrastructure
Funds the Corps Water Infrastructure
—
14
7
Finance and Innovation
Financing Program (CWIFP, which is
Program (WIFIP)
authorized to provide credit assistance for
nonfederal water resource projects) and its
administration.
Total
7,650
7,795
8,343
Sources: CRS, using enacted appropriations (P.L. 116-94; P.L. 116-260; P.L. 117-103) and USACE, Civil Works
Direct Program Development Policy Guidance, EC 11-2-225, March 2022, at https://www.publications.usace.army.mil/
Portals/76/Users/182/86/2486/EC%2011-2-225.pdf.
Notes: Amounts do not include supplemental appropriations. Totals might not sum because of rounding.
Generally, Congress provides the majority of USACE’s funding to two accounts—the
Construction account and the Operation and Maintenance (O&M) account. The O&M account
has made up a growing portion of the agency’s use of annual appropriations, as shown in Figure
4. Between FY2008 and FY2022, the O&M account increased from 40% of USACE annual
appropriations in FY2008 to 55% in FY2022.
Congressional Research Service
7
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Annual Appropriations Process
Figure 4. Percent of USACE Annual Appropriations by Account, FY2008-FY2022
Source: CRS, using enacted appropriations bil s.
Notes: WIFIP = Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Program; ASA = Assistant Secretary of the Army
(Civil Works); FCCE = Flood Control and Coastal Emergencies; FUSRAP = Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial
Action Program; MR&T = Mississippi River and Tributaries; and O&M = Operation and Maintenance. USACE
budget authorities for annual appropriations typically are provided in Title I of Annual Energy and Water
Development appropriations acts. Amounts shown do not include supplemental appropriations.
Community Project Funding/Congressionally Directed Spending
In the 117th Congress, the House and Senate appropriations committees invited Members of
Congress to request funding for geographic-specific items, labeled as CPF/CDS items,
respectively (also may be referred to as earmarks), under certain appropriations accounts along
with standard programmatic and language-based requests.18 Their instructions identified
USACE’s Investigations, Construction, Mississippi River and Tributaries (MR&T) and O&M
accounts as eligible for requests. That is, Members of Congress were invited to request funding
for site-specific studies and projects in addition to amounts requested in the President’s budget
request or for those not included in the request. In FY2022 appropriations, USACE CPF/CDS
items totaled $584 million.19 While most CPF/CDS requests by Members were included in
FY2022 enacted appropriations, some CPF/CDS requested items were funded at a lower level
18 For information on Community Project Funding (CPF), see House Committee on Appropriations, “Transparency,” at
https://appropriations.house.gov/transparency. For more information on Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS), see
U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations, “Congressionally Directed Spending Requests,” at
https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/congressionally-directed-spending-requests.
19 Explanatory statement accompanying the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022, Congressional Record, vol. 168,
no. 42, book III (March 9, 2022), pp. H2302 -2320, at https://www.congress.gov/117/crec/2022/03/09/168/42/CREC-
2022-03-09-bk3.pdf. U.S. Government Accountability Office, Tracking the Funds: Specific Fiscal Year 2022
Provisions for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, GAO-22-105919, September 29, 2022, at https://www.gao.gov/products/
gao-22-105919.
Congressional Research Service
8
link to page 18 link to page 18 link to page 13 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Annual Appropriations Process
than requested or not included in the report for the enacted bill. Under the Construction account,
70 CPF/CDS items were funded for a total of $327 million, which included 26 environmental
infrastructure assistance projects and 16 projects under continuing authorities programs.20 Other
funded CPF/CDS items included 31 studies totaling $18 million in the Investigations account, 1
study and 7 projects totaling $87 million in the MR&T account, and 47 projects totaling $152
million in the O&M account.
Additional Funding
Since the 112th Congress, Congress has provided additional funding for specified categories of
studies and projects within some USACE budget accounts: Investigations, Construction, MR&T,
and O&M. This practice initially started while earmark moratoriums limited Congress from
selecting site-specific studies and projects to receive funding that were not requested by the
Administration. That is, during the 112th through 116th Congresses, Congress included additional
funding categories for various types of USACE projects (e.g., additional funding for inland
navigation), along with directions and limitations on the use of these funds on authorized studies
and projects. For example, Congress provided $2.69 billion more in P.L. 116-94 than the
President’s request for FY2020. Of this $2.69 billion, $2.53 billion was identified as additional
funding for 26 categories of USACE activities in four budget accounts (see Appendix B). While
the 117th Congress reincorporated Member requests via CPF/CDS, the appropriations process still
included additional funding in four USACE budget accounts, though at a lower amount and for
less categories of activities than previous fiscal years (see Appendix B). For example, additional
funding in FY2022 totaled $782 million, down from $2.25 billion in FY2021. Figure 5 shows
USACE funding from FY2012 to FY2022 for individual studies and projects categorized by the
amount Congress provided for (1) studies and projects as requested by the President’s budget
request, (2) additional funding for USACE to allocate in a work plan, and (3) CPF/CDS items.
20 For continuing authorities program (CAP) funding, Congress provided an overall amount for each CAP. Any
CPF/CDS projects under CAPs were then designated an allocation out of the total provided for the CAP. For more
information on CAPs, see CRS In Focus IF11106, Army Corps of Engineers: Continuing Authorities Programs, by
Anna E. Normand.
Congressional Research Service
9
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Annual Appropriations Process
Figure 5. USACE Annual Appropriations for Individual Studies and Projects, FY2012-
FY2022
($ in billions, nominal)
Source: CRS, using conference reports for enacted appropriations for FY2012 and FY2014-FY2022. The
FY2013 amount is a CRS estimate based on data in USACE, “Civil Works, FY2013 Work Plan,” 2013.
Notes: Funding for Continuing Authorities Programs (CAPs) were not included in this analysis. Amounts shown
do not include supplemental appropriations.
New Starts
USACE studies and construction projects selected to receive funding for the first time are referred
to as new starts. Generally, the amount of existing authorizations and the rate of new study and
construction authorizations exceed the rate of funding new study and construction projects.
Budget requests from various Administrations have included requests for new studies or new
construction projects, but some have not included any new starts (e.g., FY2018 and FY2019
budget requests). From FY2014 through FY2021, Congress specified in each annual
appropriations bill the number of new studies and construction projects that USACE could
allocate using additional funding in a work plan. For example, Congress directed USACE to use
FY2020 annual appropriations to initiate a maximum of six new studies and six new construction
projects.21 Conversely, with FY2022 annual appropriations, Congress recommended 18 new
studies and 4 new construction projects in the explanatory statement accompanying P.L. 117-103,
21 In the FY2020 explanatory statement, Congress provided direction for the type of studies and construction projects to
fund as new starts. For studies, Congress directed one multipurpose watershed study to address coastal resiliency, one
for environmental restoration, one for flood and storm damage reduction, one for either flood and storm damage
reduction or environmental restoration, and two for navigation. For construction, Congress directed two for navigation
and two for environmental restoration, including the one new construction start for an Everglades project that the
Administration requested in an amendment to its budget request. The other two new construction starts could be flood
and storm damage reduction, environmental restoration, or multipurpose projects. Although Congress allowed USACE
to initiate two new environmental infrastructure assistance activities using FY2020 appropriations, the agency chose
not to fund any new environmental infrastructure starts in that fiscal year.
Congressional Research Service
10
link to page 15 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Annual Appropriations Process
which included new starts requested by the Administration and CPF/CDS requests.22 In the
explanatory statement, USACE was instructed not to fund additional new starts with additional
funding, as was the practice in previous fiscal years.
Agency Work Plan
Since FY2012, Congress has directed USACE to produce an annual work plan describing how
additional funds are to be allocated at the project level. For example, in FY2022, the explanatory
statement accompanying the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 (P.L. 117-103), called for
USACE, within 60 days after enactment of the appropriations bill, to issue a work plan that
includes the specific amount of additional funding to be allocated to each project.23 The
Administration develops the work plan, which typically consists of tables that list the projects, the
amount of additional funding that each project is to receive, and a one- or two-sentence
description of what USACE plans to accomplish with the funds for the project.24 For projects not
in the budget justifications that accompanied the President’s budget request, the information
included in the work plan may be the extent of the Administration’s public explanation of the
project-level work to be accomplished during a fiscal year.25 Following transmission of the work
plan to Congress, annual appropriations may be analyzed across business lines as shown in
Figure 6.
22 In USACE supplemental appropriations acts, unlike in annual appropriations, Congress often does not limit the
initiation of new USACE studies and construction projects. For example, USACE utilized IIJA funds to start 7 new
studies and 31 new construction projects. Information provided to CRS by USACE on July 12, 2022.
23 Explanatory statement accompanying the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022, Congressional Record, vol. 168,
no. 42, book III (March 9, 2022), pp. H2185, at https://www.congress.gov/117/crec/2022/03/09/168/42/CREC-2022-
03-09-bk3.pdf.
24 Three executive branch entities typically develop the work plan: USACE, Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil
Works), and the Office of Management and Budget.
25 USACE typically provides no details in the work plan identifying which CAP projects are funded by appropriations.
Congressional Research Service
11
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Annual Appropriations Process
Figure 6. Percent of USACE Annual Appropriations by Business Line, FY2008-
FY2022
Source: CRS, using annual account and budget information from CRS correspondence with USACE.
Notes: WIFIA = Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act; ASA = Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil
Works); FUSRAP = Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program. “Environment” includes ecosystem
restoration and environmental stewardship. “Other Civil Works” includes business lines such as water supply,
hydropower, recreation, and emergency management. “Other Civil Works” also includes environmental
infrastructure, although USACE does not consider environmental infrastructure as a business line. Amounts
shown do not include supplemental appropriations.
Congressional Research Service
12
link to page 9 link to page 17 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Annual Appropriations Process
Appendix A. USACE Business Line/Account
Crosswalk
Congress appropriates funding to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) for its civil works
activities at the account level (e.g., Investigation, Construction, and Operation and Maintenance
[O&M]). Table 1 provides a description of each account. Activities funded in these accounts are
categorized by business lines based on the type of activities. Whereas some business line
activities (e.g., navigation, flood damage reduction, restoration, recreation) are spread across
accounts (e.g., Investigations, Construction, O&M), other business line activities are exclusive to
one account with the same name (e.g., Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program,
regulatory, expenses). Along with the President’s budget request, USACE publishes a press book
that identifies in a crosswalk how the President’s requests for various accounts are distributed
across the agency’s business lines. For example, Figure A-1 shows the crosswalk for the FY2022
enacted annual appropriations; the columns are the accounts, and the rows are the business lines.
Following enactment of appropriations and work plan development, USACE typically also
calculates the level of funding for each business line.
Congressional Research Service
13
Figure A-1. FY2022 Enacted Annual Appropriations Business Line/Account Crosswalk
FY 2022 Enacted
Business Line/Account Cross-Walk ($ Millions)
Business Lines/Funding
Categories: 1/
MR&T
FUSRA
ASA
I
C
O&M 2/
TOTAL
REG
FCCE
E
WIFIA
TOTAL
I
C
O&M
P
(CW)
MRT
Flood and Coastal Storm Damage Reduc
86 tion 780
837
12
78
176
266
1,969
Coastal
37
106
27
19
170
Inland
49
674
810
12
59
176
247
1,780
Navigation
28
976
3,088
2
38
40
4,132
Coastal
13
773
2,043
10
10
2,839
Inland
15
203
1,045
2
28
30
1,293
Hydropower
5
188
193
Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration
29
632
40
1
0
1
702
Environmental Stewardship
117
5
5
122
FUSRAP
300
300
Environmental Infrastructure
100
100
Recreation
0
288
3
18
21
309
Water Supply
0
6
37
37
43
Regulatory
212
212
Emergency Management
6
35
41
Expenses
208
208
WIFIA
7
7
Office of the Assistant
Secretary of the Army for Civil
5
5
Works
TOTAL
143
2,493
4,570
13
120
237
370
300
212
35
208
7
5
8,343
1/ "Items Not Listed Under States" are not authorized with a specific business line, costs are distributed by business line in accordance with outputs, where applicable, or shared
2/ O&M includes multi-purpose project costs that are not specific to any one business line; those costs are assigned to the commercial navigation or flood and storm damage reduction,
I = Investigations; C= Construction; O&M = Operation and Maintenance; FUSRAP = Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program; FCCE = Flood Control and Coastal Emergencies;
REG= Regulatory; E = Expenses; MR&T = Flood Control, Mississippi River and Tributaries; ASA(CW) = Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works
Source: USACE provided CRS the FY2022 Enacted Annual Appropriations Business Line/Account Crosswalk on June 13, 2022.
CRS-14
link to page 18 link to page 18 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Annual Appropriations Process
Appendix B. Additional Funding Categories and
Amounts
Since the 112th Congress, Congress has provided additional funding for specific categories of
work within some U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) budget accounts (e.g., Investigations,
Construction, Operation and Maintenance, Mississippi River and Tributaries). Table B-1 shows
the additional funding Congress provided in FY2020-FY2022 for various categories of USACE
activities across four budget accounts. Congress directed USACE to produce a work plan no later
than 60 days after enactment of the appropriations acts that allocated these additional funds to
projects meeting the criteria of the categories (e.g., coastal and deep draft navigation) and any
other direction provided in the explanatory statement or conference report. Congress did not fund
every category shown in Table B-1 in each of the three fiscal years.
Table B-1. Additional Funding Categories and Amounts
($ in millions, nominal)
Account
Category
FY2020
FY2021
FY2022
Unspecified
Investigations
Unspecified
—
—
7.0
Navigation
Investigations
Unspecified Navigation
7.0
8.0
—
Investigations
Coastal and Deep Draft
6.0
6.0
—
Investigations
Inland
9.8
8.0
—
Construction
Unspecified Navigation
377.9
390.0
89.3
Construction
Inland Waterways Trust Fund Revenues
75.6
113.0
—
Construction
Regional Dredge Demonstration Program
377.7
—
—
MR&T
Dredging
5.0
5.0
5.0
Operation and Maintenance
Unspecified Navigation
40.2
40.2
21.0
Operation and Maintenance
Deep-Draft Harbor and Channel
532.5
580.0
344.6
Operation and Maintenance
Donor and Energy Transfer Ports
50.0
50.0
50.0
Operation and Maintenance
Inland Waterways
55.0
60.0
34.6
Operation and Maintenance
Small, Remote, or Subsistence Navigation
65.0
65.0
45.0
Flood and Storm Damage Reduction
Investigations
Unspecified Flood and Storm Damage
6.0
10.0
—
Reduction
Investigations
Flood Control
4.0
4.0
—
Investigations
Shore Protection
4.0
5.0
—
Construction
Unspecified Flood and Storm Damage
150.0
154.0
25.5
Reduction
Construction
Flood Control
170.0
174.0
17.8
Construction
Shore Protection
50.2
50.2
19.8
Congressional Research Service
15
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Annual Appropriations Process
MR&T
Unspecified Flood and Storm Damage
105.1
110.1
26.5
Reduction
Other Authorized Project Purposes
Investigations
Unspecified
6.0
6.0
—
Investigations
Environmental Restoration or Compliance
17.6
17.0
—
Construction
Unspecified
85.0
75.0
15.8
Construction
Environmental Restoration or Compliance
100.0
110.0
29.3
Construction
Environmental Infrastructure
100.0
100.0
13.0
MR&T
Unspecified
50.0
50.0
9.9
Operation and Maintenance
Unspecified
85.0
60.0
28.0
Source: Category and amounts are based on data from explanatory statements for enacted appropriations.
Notes: MR&T = Mississippi River and Tributaries. The explanatory statements provide some further direction
on use of additional funds (e.g., for additional construction funding in FY2020, USACE was to allocate not less
than $40.6 mil ion to projects with riverfront development components).
Author Information
Anna E. Normand
Nicole T. Carter
Analyst in Natural Resources Policy
Specialist in Natural Resources Policy
Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan
shared staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and
under the direction of Congress. Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other
than public understanding of information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in
connection with CRS’s institutional role. CRS Reports, as a work of the United States Government, are not
subject to copyright protection in the United States. Any CRS Report may be reproduced and distributed in
its entirety without permission from CRS. However, as a CRS Report may include copyrighted images or
material from a third party, you may need to obtain the permission of the copyright holder if you wish to
copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.
Congressional Research Service
R46320 · VERSION 2 · UPDATED
16
October 17, 2022
Appropriations Process
Anna E. Normand
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is an agency within the Department of Defense
Analyst in Natural
with both military and civil works responsibilities. The agency’s civil works activities consist
Resources Policy
largely of the planning, construction, and operation of water resource projects to maintain
navigable channels, reduce the risk of flood and storm damage, and restore aquatic ecosystems.
Nicole T. Carter
Congress directs USACE’s civil works activities through authorization legislation, annual and
Specialist in Natural
supplemental appropriations, and oversight.
Resources Policy
Unlike federal funding for highways and municipal water infrastructure, most federal funds
provided to USACE are not distributed by formula to states or through competitive grant
programs. Instead, USACE generally is directly engaged in the planning and construction of
projects. The majority of the agency’s appropriations are used to perform work on geographically specific studies and
congressionally authorized projects. Between FY2008 and FY2022, USACE discretionary appropriations funded through
Title I of annual Energy and Water Development appropriations acts have ranged from $4.72 billion in FY2013 to $8.34
billion in FY2022. Congress has also provided USACE with emergency supplemental appropriations (see CRS In Focus
IF11945, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Supplemental Appropriations for more information).
For the last decade, USACE’s annual appropriations process generally has involved three major milestones: the President’s
budget request, congressional deliberation and enactment of appropriations, and Administration development of a USACE
work plan. Each of the milestones is accompanied by various documents, such as USACE budget justifications,
congressional conference reports, and USACE work plans.
Figure 1. Appropriations Process Milestones for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Source: Congressional Research Service.
The process begins for an upcoming fiscal year with the submission of the President’s budget request, typically in early
February; that is, the request for a fiscal year is submitted roughly eight months before the start of that fiscal year. The
request’s appendix includes requested funding levels for different USACE accounts (e.g., Investigations, Construction,
Operation and Maintenance). USACE also releases more detailed documents (i.e., press book, budget justifications)
providing information on the projects that the request would fund. Congress may consider the President’s budget request,
Member requests (e.g., Community Project Funding [CPF] and Congressional Directed Spending [CDS] requests),
stakeholder interests, and other factors when creating an annual Energy and Water Development appropriations bill and its
USACE civil works title. In reports accompanying appropriations bills, Congress provides direction to USACE on how to
allocate enacted appropriations to various USACE activities and types of projects, including funding of CPF/CDS studies and
projects. In the months following enactment, the Administration develops a work plan to allocate additional funding to
specific studies and projects that aligns with congressional direction.
Congressional Research Service
link to page 4 link to page 4 link to page 5 link to page 7 link to page 8 link to page 11 link to page 12 link to page 13 link to page 14 link to page 2 link to page 7 link to page 9 link to page 9 link to page 11 link to page 13 link to page 13 link to page 15 link to page 17 link to page 9 link to page 9 link to page 18 link to page 16 link to page 18 link to page 19 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Annual Appropriations Process
Contents
Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1
USACE Primer .......................................................................................................................... 1
Annual Congressional Appropriations Process for USACE Funding ............................................. 2
President’s Budget Request ....................................................................................................... 4
Annual Congressional Appropriation Acts ................................................................................ 5
Community Project Funding/Congressionally Directed Spending ..................................... 8
Additional Funding ............................................................................................................. 9
New Starts ......................................................................................................................... 10
Agency Work Plan ................................................................................................................... 11
Figures
Figure 1. Appropriations Process Milestones for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers .................... 2
Figure 2. Appropriations Process Timeline, FY2020-FY2022 ........................................................ 4
Figure 3. Budget Request and Annual Appropriations for USACE Civil Works, FY2008-
FY2022 ......................................................................................................................................... 6
Figure 4. Percent of USACE Annual Appropriations by Account, FY2008-FY2022 ..................... 8
Figure 5. USACE Annual Appropriations for Individual Studies and Projects, FY2012-
FY2022 ....................................................................................................................................... 10
Figure 6. Percent of USACE Annual Appropriations by Business Line, FY2008-FY2022 .......... 12
Figure A-1. FY2022 Enacted Annual Appropriations Business Line/Account Crosswalk ........... 14
Tables
Table 1. USACE Civil Works Account Descriptions and Annual Appropriations, FY2020-
FY2022 ......................................................................................................................................... 6
Table B-1. Additional Funding Categories and Amounts .............................................................. 15
Appendixes
Appendix A. USACE Business Line/Account Crosswalk ............................................................. 13
Appendix B. Additional Funding Categories and Amounts .......................................................... 15
Contacts
Author Information ........................................................................................................................ 16
Congressional Research Service
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Annual Appropriations Process
Introduction
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is an agency within the Department of Defense
with both military and civil works responsibilities. Congress directs USACE’s civil works
activities through authorization legislation, annual and supplemental appropriations, and
oversight activities.1 This report summarizes USACE’s annual discretionary appropriations for
civil works activities, which typically are funded through Title I of annual Energy and Water
Development appropriations acts.2 In particular, the report focuses on the appropriations process
through discussions of three major milestones: President’s budget request, congressional
appropriations process, and annual USACE work plan.
USACE Primer
A military Chief of Engineers commands USACE’s civil and military operations. The Assistant
Secretary of the Army for Civil Works (ASACW) provides civilian oversight of USACE. The
agency’s responsibilities are organized into eight geographically based divisions, which are
further divided into 38 districts.3
As part of USACE’s civil works activities, Congress has authorized and appropriated funds for
the agency to perform the following:
water resource projects for maintaining navigable channels and harbors, reducing
risk of flood and storm damage, and restoring aquatic ecosystems, among other
purposes;
environmental infrastructure assistance;4
regulation of activities affecting certain waters and wetlands activities;5
1 For a primer and resources on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer’s (USACE’s) civil works activities, see CRS Insight
IN11810, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works: Primer and Resources, by Anna E. Normand and Nicole T.
Carter.
2 For more information on the Energy and Water appropriations acts, see CRS Report R46857, Energy and Water
Development: FY2022 Appropriations, by Mark Holt, Corrie E. Clark, and Anna E. Normand.
3 A USACE division map and district links are available at https://www.usace.army.mil/Locations.aspx. Districts and
divisions perform both military and civil works activities and are led by Army officers. The lead officer typically is in a
district or division leadership position for three years.
4 Since 1992, Congress has authorized, and in most years funded, USACE assistance with planning, design, and
construction of municipal drinking water and wastewater infrastructure projects in designated communities, counties,
and states (broadly known as environmental infrastructure, or EI). USACE’s EI assistance supports publicly owned
and operated facilities, such as distribution and collection works, stormwater collection, recycled water distribution,
and surface water protection and development projects. For more information on EI assistance, see CRS Report
R47162, Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Environmental Infrastructure (EI) Assistance: Authorities,
Appropriations, and Issues for Congress, by Anna E. Normand.
5 USACE’s regulatory responsibilities for navigable waters extend to issuing permits for private actions that may affect
navigation, wetlands, and other waters of the United States. Prominent among these responsibilities is USACE
administration of §404 of the Clean Water Act. For more information on these permitting responsibilities, see CRS In
Focus IF11339, Waters of the United States (WOTUS): Repealing and Revising the 2015 Clean Water Rule, by Laura
Gatz and Stephen P. Mulligan; and CRS Report R44880, Oil and Natural Gas Pipelines: Role of the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers, by Nicole T. Carter et al.
Congressional Research Service
1
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Annual Appropriations Process
remediation of sites involved in the development of U.S. nuclear weapons from
the 1940s through the 1960s, administered under the Formerly Utilized Sites
Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP);6 and
the Corps Water Infrastructure Financing Program (CWIFP) funded through the
Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Program (WIFIP) account.7
Annual Congressional Appropriations Process for
USACE Funding
Congress generally funds USACE civil works through Title I of annual Energy and Water
Development appropriations acts. Unlike federal funding for highways and municipal water
infrastructure, the majority of federal funds provided to USACE are not distributed by formula to
states or through competitive grant programs. Instead, USACE generally expends the
appropriations on its congressionally authorized water resource projects.8 That is, the majority of
USACE’s appropriations are for the planning, construction, and operation of the agency’s water
resource projects, such as multipurpose dams and commercial navigation improvements along
coasts and inland waterways. Each year, some USACE projects receive construction funds;
however, many authorized USACE construction projects have not been federally funded for years
after their authorization.9 In addition to funding the agency’s water resource activities, Congress
has provided funding to USACE for environmental infrastructure assistance activities, CWIFP,
USACE regulatory activities, and FUSRAP.
Most USACE activities require a nonfederal sponsor to share some portion of project costs. For
some project types (e.g., levees), nonfederal sponsors are required to perform operation,
6 The Atomic Energy Commission established the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP) in
1974 under the Atomic Energy Act (42 U.S.C. §§2011 et seq.) to investigate the need for remediation at privately
owned or operated sites that supported the development of U.S. nuclear weapons from the 1940s to the 1960s. The
Department of Energy (DOE) assumed administration of FUSRAP, pursuant to the Department of Energy Organization
Act of 1977 (P.L. 95-91). The Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 1998 (P.L. 105-62) authorized the
transfer of 21 FUSRAP sites where remediation was not yet complete from DOE to USACE. DOE retained
responsibility for the long-term stewardship of 25 FUSRAP sites where remediation was complete and responsibility
for the remediation and long-term stewardship of federal facilities involved in the development of U.S. nuclear
weapons. USACE later became responsible for the remediation of eight other sites added to FUSRAP. After USACE
completes the remediation of a site, jurisdiction is transferred back to DOE for long-term stewardship. For information
on the status of FUSRAP, see https://www.usace.army.mil/Missions/Environmental/FUSRAP.aspx. Although this
report references USACE’s FUSRAP and regulatory accounts, the report’s discussion focuses on annual appropriations
for the agency’s water resource projects. Lance Larson, CRS Analyst in environmental policy, covers FUSRAP
activities.
7 For more information, see CRS Insight IN12021, Corps Water Infrastructure Financing Program (CWIFP), by
Nicole T. Carter.
8 Congress generally authorizes USACE water resource studies and construction projects prior to funding them. For
information on the authorization process, see CRS Report R45185, Army Corps of Engineers: Water Resource
Authorization and Project Delivery Processes, by Nicole T. Carter and Anna E. Normand.
9 According to USACE, authorized construction projects and rehabilitation and repair work totaled an estimated $110
billion in 2021. Testimony of USACE Chief of Engineers Scott A. Spellmon at U.S. Congress, House Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure, Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment, President Biden’s Fiscal Year
2022 Budget Request: Agency Policies and Perspectives (Part I), 117th Cong., 1st sess., June 24, 2021. This is often
referred to as the agency’s construction backlog. Since that June 2021 estimate, Congress has provided funding for
USACE construction projects in FY2022 annual appropriations and in supplemental appropriations acts. As of
September 2022, USACE had not updated its 2021 construction backlog estimate (information provided to CRS by
USACE on September 20, 2022).
Congressional Research Service
2
link to page 7 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Annual Appropriations Process
maintenance, repairs, replacement, and rehabilitation of the works once construction is
complete.10 Some USACE activities also are supported by two navigation trust funds, as
described in the text box titled “Navigation Funding and Navigation Trust Funds.”
Navigation Funding and Navigation Trust Funds
Two congressionally authorized trust funds support U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) navigation activities.
These funds cover a portion of the amount that USACE spends on navigation improvements annual y.
The Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF; 26 U.S.C. §9505) pays for investments in federal navigation
coastal channel and harbor operation and maintenance (O&M). The HMTF receives revenues from taxes on
waterborne commercial cargo imports, domestic cargo, and cruise ship passengers at federally maintained
ports.
The Inland Waterways Trust Fund (IWTF; 26 U.S.C. §9506) receives proceeds of a tax on barge fuel for
vessels engaged in commercial transport on 27 designated inland and intracoastal waterways. Since 1986
(with exceptions that are noted below), Congress generally has required that construction and major
rehabilitation for inland and intracoastal waterways be paid for 50% from the General Fund of the U.S.
Treasury and 50% from the IWTF.
Both trust funds require annual appropriations language instructing that funds for eligible activities are to be drawn
from the trust fund accounts. As a result, funds drawn from the IWTF and the HMTF have historically fallen within
congressional budget caps on discretionary spending and procedural limits for allocations of budget authority for a
fiscal year (often referred to as 302(b) allocations).
The HMTF had a balance of nearly $10 bil ion at the start of 2020, as funds drawn from the fund had been less
than amounts accrued. In the CARES Act (P.L. 116-136) and the Water Resources Development Act of 2020
(WRDA 2020; Division AA of P.L. 116-260), Congress provided for an accounting change that makes certain
amounts of discretionary spending from the HMTF not count toward the discretionary budget cap. For FY2022
appropriations, HMTF provided $2.049 bil ion toward eligible USACE O&M of which roughly $2.038 bil ion did
not count toward the budget cap. In total, USACE used $2.839 bil ion of FY2022 annual appropriation toward
studies, construction, and O&M of federal navigation coastal channels and harbors. The Infrastructure Investment
and Jobs Act (IIJA; P.L. 117-58) funded harbor maintenance at $2.000 bil ion for FY2022, $1.000 bil ion for FY2023,
and $1.000 bil ion for FY2024; the IIJA did not require an HMTF contribution toward these costs.
Congress authorized a $0.09 per gallon increase in the fuel tax, resulting in a barge fuel tax of $0.29 per gallon
beginning in April 2015. Since FY2014, Congress has reduced the IWTF-required portion of funds for certain
waterway construction projects, thereby increasing the funds for inland waterway construction that come from
the General Fund. Congress in WRDA 2020 decreased the IWTF contribution from 50% to 35% for any inland
navigation construction project receiving construction appropriations during any fiscal year from FY2021 through
FY2031 until the project’s construction is complete. As part of annual appropriations provided for FY2022, the
IWTF paid for $72 mil ion of the total $205 mil ion USACE used for inland waterway construction. In total,
USACE used $1.293 bil ion of FY2022 annual appropriations for studies, construction, and O&M of inland and
intracoastal waterways. The IIJA also funded inland waterway construction at $2.500 bil ion; the IIJA did not
require an IWTF contribution toward these costs.
For the last decade, the annual appropriations process generally has involved three major
milestones: the President’s budget request, congressional deliberation and enactment of
appropriations, and Administration development of a USACE work plan (see Figure 2). The
process begins with the release of the President’s budget request, typically in early February (i.e.,
roughly eight months before the start of the fiscal year addressed by the request), although the
request is sometimes delayed.11 Congress may consider the President’s budget request, Member
requests (including Community Project Funding [CPF] and Congressional Directed Spending
[CDS] requests), stakeholder interests, and other factors when creating an annual Energy and
Water Development appropriations bill that includes USACE civil works activities. The length of
10 For more information on nonfederal cost-share requirements, see CRS Report R45185, Army Corps of Engineers:
Water Resource Authorization and Project Delivery Processes, by Nicole T. Carter and Anna E. Normand.
11 Sometimes the President is delayed in releasing the request in early February. For example, in the past, the request
has been delayed during the first year of a new Administration, such as for the FY2022 budget request.
Congressional Research Service
3
link to page 7
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Annual Appropriations Process
the congressional appropriations process varies from year to year, as shown in Figure 2.
Following enactment of the Energy and Water Development bill, the Administration develops a
USACE work plan based on instructions by Congress to allocate additional funding to specific
studies and projects. The following sections describe these major milestones in more detail.
Figure 2. Appropriations Process Timeline, FY2020-FY2022
Source: Congressional Research Service (CRS) using appropriations laws, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
(USACE) press documents, and USACE budget documents, at https://www.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/
Budget/.
Notes: Orange = month that the President’s Budget is delivered to Congress; Green = month that Congress
enacted appropriations act; Purple = month that USACE releases annual work plan.
Supplemental Appropriations for USACE
Congress has occasionally also provided USACE with emergency supplemental appropriations. For example, the
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA; P.L. 117-58) provided $17.1 bil ion for infrastructure investments
spanning USACE’s navigation, flood, and aquatic ecosystem restoration activities. While the majority of USACE’s
IIJA funding became available for USACE to apply to projects in FY2022, a portion of the funds were provided as
appropriations available starting in FY2023 and FY2024. While the IIJA focused on infrastructure investment,
Congress at times uses supplemental appropriations to fund USACE’s response to floods. Most of these flood-
related supplemental funds are directed to repairing damage to existing USACE facilities, paying for flood fighting
and repair of certain levees and dams maintained by nonfederal entities, and constructing new riverine and coastal
flood control improvements.
Notes: For more information, see CRS Insight IN11723, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) Funding for U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Civil Works: Policy Primer, by Nicole T. Carter and Anna E. Normand; and CRS In
Focus IF11945, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Supplemental Appropriations, by Nicole T. Carter and Anna E.
Normand.
President’s Budget Request
The President’s budget request for USACE typically includes funding at the account level (i.e.,
Investigation, Construction, and Operation and Maintenance), as shown in the appendix to the
President’s FY2020 budget request.12 The agency’s budget justification includes more detailed
12 The portion of the appendix of the President’s FY2022 budget request related to USACE is available at
https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/BUDGET-2022-APP/BUDGET-2022-APP-1-20.
Congressional Research Service
4
link to page 9 link to page 9 link to page 9 link to page 9 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Annual Appropriations Process
information regarding the request by providing information for specific activities, such as the
level of funding requested for particular USACE studies and construction projects.13 USACE also
publishes a summary of this information in a document it refers to as the press book. The press
book shows the requested funding for USACE projects for each state and identifies how the
President’s requests for various accounts are distributed across the agency’s business lines (i.e.,
types of activities, such as navigation, restoration, and recreation) in a crosswalk.14
In recent years, the executive branch has used various metrics, including benefit-cost ratios and
other performance criteria, to identify which projects and activities to include in the President’s
request. For example, to identify operation and maintenance investments, the Administration’s
budget development guidance has used risk assessments, which consist of an evaluation of an
existing project’s condition and the consequences of reduced project performance (i.e., the
consequence of not making an investment). USACE budget development guidance describes
these metrics and other aspects of the budget development process each year.15 Some
Administrations’ requests also have limited funding for new starts to focus on completing existing
projects and address aging infrastructure.
Annual Congressional Appropriation Acts
From FY2008 to FY2022, Congress provided USACE with annual appropriations ranging from
$4.72 billion (in FY2013) to $8.34 billion (in FY2022) in nominal dollars.16 As shown in Figure
3, since FY2008, Congress has provided more for USACE civil works annual appropriations than
the President requested in all but one year. Figure 3 also shows a line illustrating the FY2008
through FY2021 annual appropriations in FY2021 dollars (i.e., the amounts have been inflation-
adjusted to reflect 2021 as the base year).17 Figure 3 does not include supplemental
appropriations in these fiscal years.
13 The detailed budget justification may be available the same day the President’s budget request is released or within a
few weeks of the budget request’s release. USACE posts its budget justifications, along with other budget documents,
at http://www.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Budget/.
14 Although some business line activities (e.g., navigation, flood damage reduction, restoration, recreation) are spread
across accounts (e.g., Investigations, Construction, Operation and Maintenance), other business line activities and
accounts are the same (e.g., FUSRAP, regulatory, expenses). The press book is published at
http://www.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Budget/.
15 For example, see USACE, Civil Works Direct Program Development Policy Guidance, EC 11-2-225, March 2022, at
https://www.publications.usace.army.mil/Portals/76/Users/182/86/2486/EC%2011-2-225.pdf. For more on benefit-cost
ratios, see CRS Report R44594, Discount Rates in the Economic Evaluation of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Projects,
by Nicole T. Carter and Adam C. Nesbitt.
16 The amounts discussed in this report are nominal unless otherwise stated.
17 When inflation-adjusted amounts are provided in this report, the appropriated amounts were adjusted to 2021 dollars
using U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis, National Income and Product Accounts, Table
1.1.9. FY2022 amounts were not adjusted.
Congressional Research Service
5
link to page 9 link to page 11 link to page 12
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Annual Appropriations Process
Figure 3. Budget Request and Annual Appropriations for USACE Civil Works,
FY2008-FY2022
($ in billions, nominal)
Source: CRS, using budget authority identified in enacted appropriations and Administration budget requests.
Notes: Budget authority shown does not include supplemental appropriations. Amounts adjusted to 2021
dol ars using U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis, National Income and Product
Accounts, Table 1.1.9.
In the text of enacted appropriations laws, Congress generally provides appropriations to USACE
at the account level (see Table 1 for a description of the accounts and their FY2020-FY2022
appropriations amounts). Accompanying appropriations reports (i.e., conference reports,
committee reports, or explanatory statements), which sometimes are incorporated into law by
reference, often identify specific USACE studies, projects, and programs to receive appropriated
funds (see section on “Community Project Funding/Congressionally Directed Spending”) and
amounts of “additional funding” for USACE to allocate to studies and programs in a work plan
(see section on “Additional Funding”).
Table 1. USACE Civil Works Account Descriptions and Annual Appropriations,
FY2020-FY2022
($ in millions, nominal)
Account
Description
FY2020
FY2021
FY2022
Investigations
Funds studies for authorized projects and
151
153
143
programs and may fund preconstruction
engineering and design work.
Construction
Funds implementation for new and continuing
2,681
2,693
2,493
construction, reconstruction, continuing
authorities programs, environmental
infrastructure assistance, major rehabilitation,
dam safety assurance, dredge material disposal
facilities, and deficiency correction of projects.
Congressional Research Service
6
link to page 11 link to page 11 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Annual Appropriations Process
Account
Description
FY2020
FY2021
FY2022
Mississippi River and
Funds projects and programs on the Mississippi
375
380
370
Tributaries (MR&T)
River main stem and its tributaries; the
account combines Investigations, Construction,
and O&M activities.
Operation and
Funds operation, maintenance, and related
3,790
3,850
4,570
Maintenance (O&M)
activities at water resource projects that
USACE operates and maintains (e.g.,
multipurpose dams, navigation channels).
Flood Control and Coastal
Funds USACE’s authorized emergency
35
35
35
Emergencies (FCCE)
response and repair activities. Annual
appropriations primarily used for emergency
flood response preparedness. Supplemental
appropriations typically fund the flood
response and repair activities.
Regulatory
Funds activities for USACE regulatory
210
210
212
responsibilities, such as Section 404 Clean
Water Act permits.
Formerly Utilized Sites
Funds remedial activities at sites contaminated
200
250
300
Remedial Action Program
primarily as a result of the United States’ early
(FUSRAP)
atomic weapons development program.
General Expenses
Funds development and execution of the civil
203
206
208
works program, as well as oversight of the civil
works program missions.
Assistant Secretary of the
Funds the Office of the ASACW, whose
5
5
5
Army (Civil Works;
responsibilities include policy direction and
ASACW)
oversight of the civil works program.
Water Infrastructure
Funds the Corps Water Infrastructure
—
14
7
Finance and Innovation
Financing Program (CWIFP, which is
Program (WIFIP)
authorized to provide credit assistance for
nonfederal water resource projects) and its
administration.
Total
7,650
7,795
8,343
Sources: CRS, using enacted appropriations (P.L. 116-94; P.L. 116-260; P.L. 117-103) and USACE, Civil Works
Direct Program Development Policy Guidance, EC 11-2-225, March 2022, at https://www.publications.usace.army.mil/
Portals/76/Users/182/86/2486/EC%2011-2-225.pdf.
Notes: Amounts do not include supplemental appropriations. Totals might not sum because of rounding.
Generally, Congress provides the majority of USACE’s funding to two accounts—the
Construction account and the Operation and Maintenance (O&M) account. The O&M account
has made up a growing portion of the agency’s use of annual appropriations, as shown in Figure
4. Between FY2008 and FY2022, the O&M account increased from 40% of USACE annual
appropriations in FY2008 to 55% in FY2022.
Congressional Research Service
7
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Annual Appropriations Process
Figure 4. Percent of USACE Annual Appropriations by Account, FY2008-FY2022
Source: CRS, using enacted appropriations bil s.
Notes: WIFIP = Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Program; ASA = Assistant Secretary of the Army
(Civil Works); FCCE = Flood Control and Coastal Emergencies; FUSRAP = Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial
Action Program; MR&T = Mississippi River and Tributaries; and O&M = Operation and Maintenance. USACE
budget authorities for annual appropriations typically are provided in Title I of Annual Energy and Water
Development appropriations acts. Amounts shown do not include supplemental appropriations.
Community Project Funding/Congressionally Directed Spending
In the 117th Congress, the House and Senate appropriations committees invited Members of
Congress to request funding for geographic-specific items, labeled as CPF/CDS items,
respectively (also may be referred to as earmarks), under certain appropriations accounts along
with standard programmatic and language-based requests.18 Their instructions identified
USACE’s Investigations, Construction, Mississippi River and Tributaries (MR&T) and O&M
accounts as eligible for requests. That is, Members of Congress were invited to request funding
for site-specific studies and projects in addition to amounts requested in the President’s budget
request or for those not included in the request. In FY2022 appropriations, USACE CPF/CDS
items totaled $584 million.19 While most CPF/CDS requests by Members were included in
FY2022 enacted appropriations, some CPF/CDS requested items were funded at a lower level
18 For information on Community Project Funding (CPF), see House Committee on Appropriations, “Transparency,” at
https://appropriations.house.gov/transparency. For more information on Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS), see
U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations, “Congressionally Directed Spending Requests,” at
https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/congressionally-directed-spending-requests.
19 Explanatory statement accompanying the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022, Congressional Record, vol. 168,
no. 42, book III (March 9, 2022), pp. H2302 -2320, at https://www.congress.gov/117/crec/2022/03/09/168/42/CREC-
2022-03-09-bk3.pdf. U.S. Government Accountability Office, Tracking the Funds: Specific Fiscal Year 2022
Provisions for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, GAO-22-105919, September 29, 2022, at https://www.gao.gov/products/
gao-22-105919.
Congressional Research Service
8
link to page 18 link to page 18 link to page 13 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Annual Appropriations Process
than requested or not included in the report for the enacted bill. Under the Construction account,
70 CPF/CDS items were funded for a total of $327 million, which included 26 environmental
infrastructure assistance projects and 16 projects under continuing authorities programs.20 Other
funded CPF/CDS items included 31 studies totaling $18 million in the Investigations account, 1
study and 7 projects totaling $87 million in the MR&T account, and 47 projects totaling $152
million in the O&M account.
Additional Funding
Since the 112th Congress, Congress has provided additional funding for specified categories of
studies and projects within some USACE budget accounts: Investigations, Construction, MR&T,
and O&M. This practice initially started while earmark moratoriums limited Congress from
selecting site-specific studies and projects to receive funding that were not requested by the
Administration. That is, during the 112th through 116th Congresses, Congress included additional
funding categories for various types of USACE projects (e.g., additional funding for inland
navigation), along with directions and limitations on the use of these funds on authorized studies
and projects. For example, Congress provided $2.69 billion more in P.L. 116-94 than the
President’s request for FY2020. Of this $2.69 billion, $2.53 billion was identified as additional
funding for 26 categories of USACE activities in four budget accounts (see Appendix B). While
the 117th Congress reincorporated Member requests via CPF/CDS, the appropriations process still
included additional funding in four USACE budget accounts, though at a lower amount and for
less categories of activities than previous fiscal years (see Appendix B). For example, additional
funding in FY2022 totaled $782 million, down from $2.25 billion in FY2021. Figure 5 shows
USACE funding from FY2012 to FY2022 for individual studies and projects categorized by the
amount Congress provided for (1) studies and projects as requested by the President’s budget
request, (2) additional funding for USACE to allocate in a work plan, and (3) CPF/CDS items.
20 For continuing authorities program (CAP) funding, Congress provided an overall amount for each CAP. Any
CPF/CDS projects under CAPs were then designated an allocation out of the total provided for the CAP. For more
information on CAPs, see CRS In Focus IF11106, Army Corps of Engineers: Continuing Authorities Programs, by
Anna E. Normand.
Congressional Research Service
9
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Annual Appropriations Process
Figure 5. USACE Annual Appropriations for Individual Studies and Projects, FY2012-
FY2022
($ in billions, nominal)
Source: CRS, using conference reports for enacted appropriations for FY2012 and FY2014-FY2022. The
FY2013 amount is a CRS estimate based on data in USACE, “Civil Works, FY2013 Work Plan,” 2013.
Notes: Funding for Continuing Authorities Programs (CAPs) were not included in this analysis. Amounts shown
do not include supplemental appropriations.
New Starts
USACE studies and construction projects selected to receive funding for the first time are referred
to as new starts. Generally, the amount of existing authorizations and the rate of new study and
construction authorizations exceed the rate of funding new study and construction projects.
Budget requests from various Administrations have included requests for new studies or new
construction projects, but some have not included any new starts (e.g., FY2018 and FY2019
budget requests). From FY2014 through FY2021, Congress specified in each annual
appropriations bill the number of new studies and construction projects that USACE could
allocate using additional funding in a work plan. For example, Congress directed USACE to use
FY2020 annual appropriations to initiate a maximum of six new studies and six new construction
projects.21 Conversely, with FY2022 annual appropriations, Congress recommended 18 new
studies and 4 new construction projects in the explanatory statement accompanying P.L. 117-103,
21 In the FY2020 explanatory statement, Congress provided direction for the type of studies and construction projects to
fund as new starts. For studies, Congress directed one multipurpose watershed study to address coastal resiliency, one
for environmental restoration, one for flood and storm damage reduction, one for either flood and storm damage
reduction or environmental restoration, and two for navigation. For construction, Congress directed two for navigation
and two for environmental restoration, including the one new construction start for an Everglades project that the
Administration requested in an amendment to its budget request. The other two new construction starts could be flood
and storm damage reduction, environmental restoration, or multipurpose projects. Although Congress allowed USACE
to initiate two new environmental infrastructure assistance activities using FY2020 appropriations, the agency chose
not to fund any new environmental infrastructure starts in that fiscal year.
Congressional Research Service
10
link to page 15 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Annual Appropriations Process
which included new starts requested by the Administration and CPF/CDS requests.22 In the
explanatory statement, USACE was instructed not to fund additional new starts with additional
funding, as was the practice in previous fiscal years.
Agency Work Plan
Since FY2012, Congress has directed USACE to produce an annual work plan describing how
additional funds are to be allocated at the project level. For example, in FY2022, the explanatory
statement accompanying the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 (P.L. 117-103), called for
USACE, within 60 days after enactment of the appropriations bill, to issue a work plan that
includes the specific amount of additional funding to be allocated to each project.23 The
Administration develops the work plan, which typically consists of tables that list the projects, the
amount of additional funding that each project is to receive, and a one- or two-sentence
description of what USACE plans to accomplish with the funds for the project.24 For projects not
in the budget justifications that accompanied the President’s budget request, the information
included in the work plan may be the extent of the Administration’s public explanation of the
project-level work to be accomplished during a fiscal year.25 Following transmission of the work
plan to Congress, annual appropriations may be analyzed across business lines as shown in
Figure 6.
22 In USACE supplemental appropriations acts, unlike in annual appropriations, Congress often does not limit the
initiation of new USACE studies and construction projects. For example, USACE utilized IIJA funds to start 7 new
studies and 31 new construction projects. Information provided to CRS by USACE on July 12, 2022.
23 Explanatory statement accompanying the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022, Congressional Record, vol. 168,
no. 42, book III (March 9, 2022), pp. H2185, at https://www.congress.gov/117/crec/2022/03/09/168/42/CREC-2022-
03-09-bk3.pdf.
24 Three executive branch entities typically develop the work plan: USACE, Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil
Works), and the Office of Management and Budget.
25 USACE typically provides no details in the work plan identifying which CAP projects are funded by appropriations.
Congressional Research Service
11
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Annual Appropriations Process
Figure 6. Percent of USACE Annual Appropriations by Business Line, FY2008-
FY2022
Source: CRS, using annual account and budget information from CRS correspondence with USACE.
Notes: WIFIA = Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act; ASA = Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil
Works); FUSRAP = Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program. “Environment” includes ecosystem
restoration and environmental stewardship. “Other Civil Works” includes business lines such as water supply,
hydropower, recreation, and emergency management. “Other Civil Works” also includes environmental
infrastructure, although USACE does not consider environmental infrastructure as a business line. Amounts
shown do not include supplemental appropriations.
Congressional Research Service
12
link to page 9 link to page 17 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Annual Appropriations Process
Appendix A. USACE Business Line/Account
Crosswalk
Congress appropriates funding to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) for its civil works
activities at the account level (e.g., Investigation, Construction, and Operation and Maintenance
[O&M]). Table 1 provides a description of each account. Activities funded in these accounts are
categorized by business lines based on the type of activities. Whereas some business line
activities (e.g., navigation, flood damage reduction, restoration, recreation) are spread across
accounts (e.g., Investigations, Construction, O&M), other business line activities are exclusive to
one account with the same name (e.g., Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program,
regulatory, expenses). Along with the President’s budget request, USACE publishes a press book
that identifies in a crosswalk how the President’s requests for various accounts are distributed
across the agency’s business lines. For example, Figure A-1 shows the crosswalk for the FY2022
enacted annual appropriations; the columns are the accounts, and the rows are the business lines.
Following enactment of appropriations and work plan development, USACE typically also
calculates the level of funding for each business line.
Congressional Research Service
13
Figure A-1. FY2022 Enacted Annual Appropriations Business Line/Account Crosswalk
FY 2022 Enacted
Business Line/Account Cross-Walk ($ Millions)
Business Lines/Funding
Categories: 1/
MR&T
FUSRA
ASA
I
C
O&M 2/
TOTAL
REG
FCCE
E
WIFIA
TOTAL
I
C
O&M
P
(CW)
MRT
Flood and Coastal Storm Damage Reduc
86 tion 780
837
12
78
176
266
1,969
Coastal
37
106
27
19
170
Inland
49
674
810
12
59
176
247
1,780
Navigation
28
976
3,088
2
38
40
4,132
Coastal
13
773
2,043
10
10
2,839
Inland
15
203
1,045
2
28
30
1,293
Hydropower
5
188
193
Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration
29
632
40
1
0
1
702
Environmental Stewardship
117
5
5
122
FUSRAP
300
300
Environmental Infrastructure
100
100
Recreation
0
288
3
18
21
309
Water Supply
0
6
37
37
43
Regulatory
212
212
Emergency Management
6
35
41
Expenses
208
208
WIFIA
7
7
Office of the Assistant
Secretary of the Army for Civil
5
5
Works
TOTAL
143
2,493
4,570
13
120
237
370
300
212
35
208
7
5
8,343
1/ "Items Not Listed Under States" are not authorized with a specific business line, costs are distributed by business line in accordance with outputs, where applicable, or shared
2/ O&M includes multi-purpose project costs that are not specific to any one business line; those costs are assigned to the commercial navigation or flood and storm damage reduction,
I = Investigations; C= Construction; O&M = Operation and Maintenance; FUSRAP = Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program; FCCE = Flood Control and Coastal Emergencies;
REG= Regulatory; E = Expenses; MR&T = Flood Control, Mississippi River and Tributaries; ASA(CW) = Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works
Source: USACE provided CRS the FY2022 Enacted Annual Appropriations Business Line/Account Crosswalk on June 13, 2022.
CRS-14
link to page 18 link to page 18 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Annual Appropriations Process
Appendix B. Additional Funding Categories and
Amounts
Since the 112th Congress, Congress has provided additional funding for specific categories of
work within some U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) budget accounts (e.g., Investigations,
Construction, Operation and Maintenance, Mississippi River and Tributaries). Table B-1 shows
the additional funding Congress provided in FY2020-FY2022 for various categories of USACE
activities across four budget accounts. Congress directed USACE to produce a work plan no later
than 60 days after enactment of the appropriations acts that allocated these additional funds to
projects meeting the criteria of the categories (e.g., coastal and deep draft navigation) and any
other direction provided in the explanatory statement or conference report. Congress did not fund
every category shown in Table B-1 in each of the three fiscal years.
Table B-1. Additional Funding Categories and Amounts
($ in millions, nominal)
Account
Category
FY2020
FY2021
FY2022
Unspecified
Investigations
Unspecified
—
—
7.0
Navigation
Investigations
Unspecified Navigation
7.0
8.0
—
Investigations
Coastal and Deep Draft
6.0
6.0
—
Investigations
Inland
9.8
8.0
—
Construction
Unspecified Navigation
377.9
390.0
89.3
Construction
Inland Waterways Trust Fund Revenues
75.6
113.0
—
Construction
Regional Dredge Demonstration Program
377.7
—
—
MR&T
Dredging
5.0
5.0
5.0
Operation and Maintenance
Unspecified Navigation
40.2
40.2
21.0
Operation and Maintenance
Deep-Draft Harbor and Channel
532.5
580.0
344.6
Operation and Maintenance
Donor and Energy Transfer Ports
50.0
50.0
50.0
Operation and Maintenance
Inland Waterways
55.0
60.0
34.6
Operation and Maintenance
Small, Remote, or Subsistence Navigation
65.0
65.0
45.0
Flood and Storm Damage Reduction
Investigations
Unspecified Flood and Storm Damage
6.0
10.0
—
Reduction
Investigations
Flood Control
4.0
4.0
—
Investigations
Shore Protection
4.0
5.0
—
Construction
Unspecified Flood and Storm Damage
150.0
154.0
25.5
Reduction
Construction
Flood Control
170.0
174.0
17.8
Construction
Shore Protection
50.2
50.2
19.8
Congressional Research Service
15
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Annual Appropriations Process
MR&T
Unspecified Flood and Storm Damage
105.1
110.1
26.5
Reduction
Other Authorized Project Purposes
Investigations
Unspecified
6.0
6.0
—
Investigations
Environmental Restoration or Compliance
17.6
17.0
—
Construction
Unspecified
85.0
75.0
15.8
Construction
Environmental Restoration or Compliance
100.0
110.0
29.3
Construction
Environmental Infrastructure
100.0
100.0
13.0
MR&T
Unspecified
50.0
50.0
9.9
Operation and Maintenance
Unspecified
85.0
60.0
28.0
Source: Category and amounts are based on data from explanatory statements for enacted appropriations.
Notes: MR&T = Mississippi River and Tributaries. The explanatory statements provide some further direction
on use of additional funds (e.g., for additional construction funding in FY2020, USACE was to allocate not less
than $40.6 mil ion to projects with riverfront development components).
Author Information
Anna E. Normand
Nicole T. Carter
Analyst in Natural Resources Policy
Specialist in Natural Resources Policy
Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan
shared staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and
under the direction of Congress. Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other
than public understanding of information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in
connection with CRS’s institutional role. CRS Reports, as a work of the United States Government, are not
subject to copyright protection in the United States. Any CRS Report may be reproduced and distributed in
its entirety without permission from CRS. However, as a CRS Report may include copyrighted images or
material from a third party, you may need to obtain the permission of the copyright holder if you wish to
copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.
Congressional Research Service
R46320 · VERSION 2 · UPDATED
16