www.crs.gov | 7-5700
April 2, 2018
Army Corps of Engineers: FY2018 Appropriations
Congress generally funds the civil works activities of the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) in Title I of an
annual Energy and Water Development appropriations act.
These activities consist primarily of planning and
constructing water resource projects and maintaining
federal infrastructure operated by the Corps (e.g.,
navigation channels). Congress directs the agency’s role in
improving navigation, reducing flood risks, and restoring
aquatic ecosystems through authorization and
appropriations legislation. The President requested $5.0
billion for the civil works activities of the Corps in FY2018;
Congress funded these activities at $6.83 billion in P.L.
115-141, enacted on March 23, 2018 (see Figure 1). The
discussion herein provides a primer on Corps FY2018
appropriations; topics covered include the President’s
request, additional funding provided by Congress, harbor
maintenance, inland waterway construction, ecosystem
restoration, and flood-risk reduction, as well as efforts to
promote investment in water resource infrastructure.
Figure 1. Annual Corps Funding, FY2004-FY2018
(nominal $ in billions)
Source: Congressional Research Service (CRS).
Corps FY2018 Appropriations
Unlike with federal funding for highways and municipal
water infrastructure, the majority of federal funds provided
to the Corps are not distributed by formula to states or
through competitive grant programs. Instead, the agency is
directly engaged in the planning and construction of
projects, and the Corps uses the majority of the
appropriations performing work on specific studies and
projects authorized by Congress. Corps funding is requested
at the account level, with the two largest accounts being
Operations and Maintenance (O&M) and Construction (see
Figure 2).
FY2018 Request
According to the Administration’s FY2018 budget
documents, the request prioritized maintaining performance
of existing infrastructure. It included no funding for new
Corps studies or new construction projects (known as new
starts). The request proposed funding only ongoing
navigation and flood-risk reduction construction projects
that had a benefit-cost ratio (BCR) of at least 2.5 to 1 (i.e.,
project benefits are at least two and a half times project
costs) or addressed a safety concern. Previous requests also
applied BCR thresholds and limited new starts to focus on
ongoing work. Many authorized projects have BCRs below
the budget threshold.
Figure 2. Corps Funding by Account, FY2012-FY2018
(nominal $ in billions)
Source: CRS.
Notes: ASA = Assistant Secretary of the Army. Regulatory =
Regulatory program for permitting nonfederal activities in or affecting
regulated waters and wetlands. FUSRAP = Formerly Utilized Sites
Remedial Action Program.
Additional Funding Provided by Congress
Since the 112
th
Congress, congressional funding for site-
specific projects (i.e., congressionally directed spending or
earmarks) has been subject to House and Senate earmark
moratorium policies. As shown in Figure 1, Congress
typically provides the Corps with more funding than
requested. Since the 112
th
Congress, in lieu of increasing
funding for specific projects, Congress has provided
funding within some budget accounts for categories of
Corps activities referred to as additional funding (e.g., $341
million of additional funding for deep-draft navigation
maintenance in the O&M account). For FY2018, Congress
provided the agency $1.83 billion above the request; of this,
$1.75 billion was identified as additional funding in four
budget accounts (see Figure 3). The explanatory statement
accompanying P.L. 115-141 identified a total of 27
categories of activities eligible for these additional funds.
Congress allowed FY2018-enacted funding to be used to
initiate new starts—five new construction projects and
