Rubio Blasts Senate for Rejecting Amendment on Water Infrastructure Bill

TALLAHASSEE – Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) released a statement after the Senate rejected his amendment to the Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act of 2021 to modernize the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF).

The CWSRF is a federal funding mechanism that provides low-interest loans to states to upgrade and construct wastewater infrastructure. However, the formula by which CWSRF monies are provided to the states has not been meaningfully modified since 1987.

As a result, some lawmakers argue that the current formula discriminates against states with growing infrastructure needs. Rubio’s amendment would have benefited 35 states, including Florida, in addition to territories and Native American Tribes.

"Federal money for water management is given out to states based on an old formula created well before Florida was the third largest state in the country," said Rubio, while speaking on the Senate floor before the vote. "We need a new formula that provides money based on where people live today, not where people lived decades ago. The formula we have now isn’t just unfair, it is damaging. We had a chance to fix that today, but the Senate failed. I will keep fighting for fair and equitable treatment for Florida."