Washington Report – April 20, 2026

April 20, 2026

Highlighting a 2025 ɫ��AV Project of the Year award winner in the Historic Restoration/Preservation category, the Engineering and Public Works Roadshow will gather at 11:00 a.m. MST at Ranger Station Park;
ɫ��AV Region VII Director Kristina Ramirez will participate along with Sedona Mayor Holli Ploog, to showcase this unique site;
Preserving 100 years of local history, the site consists of the Ranger’s House (1917), Sedona’s oldest standing building, and Ranger’s Barn (1934), both on the National Register of Historic Places;
The project consisted of refurbishment of the dual structures, as well as making fit for purpose 3.4 acres which now serve as a public park and open space;
This event will showcase how public works and engineering expertise merged to strengthen resilience, enhance public spaces, and preserve historic assets;
You can read about the project and view all archived Roadshow stops .

The annual meeting of the Engineering Workforce Consortium (EWC) will take place at ��ʰ´�’s Washington, D.C. office;
CEO Scott Grayson, ɫ��AV Director of Government and Public Affairs Andrea Eales, Career & Workforce Development Manager Corinne Watts, and Government Affairs Specialist Jeff Finegan will represent ɫ��AV;
The first-of-its-kind, joint effort led by ɫ��AV, the American Council of Engineering Companies, and the American Society of Civil Engineers, the EWC brings together a diverse coalition of voices to address and deliberate solutions to the workforce shortage facing the public works and engineering industries;
Read more about the EWC .

��ʰ´�’s “Public Works Are First Responders” updated flyer is now available;
As ɫ��AV members know, public works professionals play an essential role in emergency response and recovery alongside law enforcement, fire, and EMS partners;
It is important to educate policymakers about the vital role public works professionals have in mitigation, being involved from the beginning of an incident through protecting essential services, to full community restoration;
If you and your chapter are working on first responder recognition at the local and state levels, and would like assistance in your efforts, contact ɫ��AV Sr. Government Affairs Manager, Marty Williams at mwilliams@apwa.org or (202) 218-6732.

The House of Representatives is expected to vote on H.R. 7386 the , sponsored by Rep. Neal Dunn (R-FL);
ɫ��AV has a member representative, Mark Ray from Burnsville, Minnesota serving on the First Responder Network Authority Public Safety Advisory Committee (PSAC);
The PSAC oversees the development and operation of FirstNet, a nationwide, interoperable broadband network for first responders;
FirstNet Authority is set to expire February 2027, and if enacted, H.R. 7386 would extend FirstNet through FY37.

ɫ��AV once again joined dozens of other national organizations in Washington, D.C. as a partner in held this year April 12-18;
The week began with the National Stormwater Policy Forum where Government Affairs Manager Leah Harnish, joined representatives from the US Conference of Mayors, the American Society of Floodplain Managers, and the Florida Stormwater Association on a panel hosted by the Water Environment Federation, National Municipal Stormwater Alliance, the National League of Cities and the National Association of Counties to discuss stormwater and flood risk funding, and policy innovations at the federal, state, and local levels;
The hallmark event continued with a fly in and plenary session where the keynote speaker was U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Water Assistant Administrator Jessica Kramer;
During her comments, Assistant Administrator Kramer stated that the Office of Water is getting back to the basics, focused on good stewardship including asset management and she announced the final WOTUS rule will be published in the coming months, spoke on the upcoming publication of the Water Reuse Action Plan 2.0 and discussed EPA’s commitment to rural water challenges, as well as the industry’s workforce development and emerging contaminant management programs;
Leah also joined ɫ��AV Wisconsin chapter members Eric Dundee and Amanda Wegner on their visits to Capitol Hill.

April 20 at 3 p.m., the House Appropriations Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee is scheduled to hold a hearing to review the ;
April 21 at 10:15 a.m., the House Committee on Education and Workforce is scheduled to hold a markup of H.R. , ;
April 22 at 10 a.m., the Senate Appropriations Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee is scheduled to hold a hearing to review the ;
April 23 at 11 a.m., the House Appropriations Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Subcommittee is scheduled to hold a hearing to review the .