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Home My WebLink AboutI. A. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS UPDATE 3.4.20252024-2025 Federal Lobbying Report & Update for the City of Virginia Beach, VA Becker DC Team March 04, 2025 National Law & Lobbying Firm with over 50 years of experience. 15 Bicoastal Offices: Washington, DC, Florida, New York, New Jersey, California. Diverse and bipartisan team of Virginia-experienced lobbyists Local knowledge. Regional ties. National reach. Named “Top Performing Lobbying Firm” by Bloomberg Government. THE ADVANTAGE YOUR FEDERAL LOBBYING TEAM ALFONSO LOPEZ CO-LEAD LOBBYIST ANTHONY BEDELL CO-LEAD LOBBYIST OMAR FRANCO TEAM MEMBER AMANDA WOOD TEAM MEMBER CLARENCE WILLIAMS TEAM MEMBER PERRY ADAIR TEAM MEMBER ALFONSO LOPEZ •Over 30 years of Federal and Virginia legislative experience •Former U.S. Senate staffer and Assistant Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration for Congressional & Intergovernmental Affairs during the Obama Administration •Director of Federal & Congressional Affairs for the Commonwealth of Virginia during the Administration of Governor Tim Kaine •Currently represents the 3rd District in the Virginia House of Delegates ANTHONY BEDELL •Former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs at the U.S. Department of Transportation •Also served in key roles at the U.S. Department of Labor and U.S. Small Business Administration •Over 24 years of federal, state, and local government experience •Called “Influential lobbying firepower” – Politico A VERY SUCCESSFUL 2024 Working with Brent McKenzie, the City’s Director of Legislative Affairs, and Andrew Damon, our team has pursued an aggressive strategy for taking advantage of unique federal opportunities available to support the City – including: •$13,714,404 in total federal grant funding. •$12.5 million in preliminary earmarks in pending FY25 appropriations bills.* •$7.993 million in FINAL in FY24 earmarks. *Should Congress pass a full FY25 appropriations bill rather than a CR, we expect all earmark funds to be disbursed BREAKDOWN OF 2024 FEDERAL AWARDS •Of the $7,993,000 in FINAL FY24 earmarks: •$3,900,000: Rudee Inlet project through Army Corps•$3,000,000: Laskin Road Phase I-B project•$693,000: Creeds Training Facility Project•$400,000: Virginia Beach & Vicinity Coastal Zone Management Study through Army Corps •Of the $12.5 million in preliminary FY25 earmarks:•$10,000,000: I-264 Improvements •$1,500,000: Coastal Storm Risk Management Study •$1,000,000: Bow Creek Stormwater Park AWARD BREAKDOWN CONTINUED •Of the $13,714,404 in federal grant funding: Project Grant Awards Formula/Block Grant Awards $125,788.00 in HUD grants •Continuum of Care funding •Family Self-Sufficiency Program project funding $6,394,425 in Housing & Urban Development grants •Formula grants such as CBDG, Home Investment Partnership, Housing Opportunities, and Emergency Solutions •Family Self Sufficiency Program grant $1.641 million in Homeland Security grants •Port Security Grant Program •National Urban Search and Rescue Response System program funding $418,550 in Energy Grants •Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants $5.82 million in Education grants •Impact Aid Program, Title VII funding $51,604 in Justice Grants •Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant for community- oriented policing LOOKING AHEAD: 2025 PRIORITIES & OPPORTUNITIES •FY 2026 Appropriations Process – A diversified portfolio of top tier targets •THUD, LHHS, and CJS subcommittees for programmatic opportunities in transportation, emergency preparedness, community development, housing, resiliency, and public safety •Earmarks from VA congressional delegation members •The City’s Congressional delegation is expected to once again accept programmatic and earmark requests in FY26, and your Becker Team will keep the Council and City Manager’s office updated on guidance and deadlines. •HOWEVER, the timing of the FY26 process remains an open question with FY25 appropriations still pending under a March 14th CR and slated budget cuts under the June 2023 debt limit agreement. •Key Annual Congressional Authorizations/Implementation – •Surface Transportation Reauthorization •Past WRDA Implementation – 10x6 “Comprehensive Regional CSRM Study” Update •WRDA 26 – Discussions on future of programs •Federal grants – A wide range of funding opportunities: •Flooding and storm resiliency, including BRIC funding •Police & fire department projects (ex., COPS, AFG) •Infrastructure Bill opportunities, including surface transportation and connectivity FY25-26 APPROPRIATIONS PROCESSES •A typical appropriations cycle roughly mirrors the timeframe to the right. •However, the FY26 process will likely be impacted by the current FY25 stopgap bill extending government funding through March 14th. •The FY26 process will be further affected by the expected Republican-led reconciliation package to advance the Trump Administration’s immigration and budgetary priorities. •The June 2023 debt limit agreement may also impose mandatory 1% budget cuts if Congress fails to reach a full funding agreement by April 30th. Typical Timeframe Expected Action February/March FY guidance released; appropriations and earmark requests submitted March/April Members of Congress prioritize submissions and send top picks to the relevant appropriations subcommittee May/June Subcommittees release draft appropriations bills with selected submissions Fall/Winter Congress passes the annual appropriations bill TRUMP ADMINISTRATION GRANT AWARDING GOALS •Upon taking office, President Trump signed several executive orders (EO) pausing the disbursement of IIJA and IRA energy project funds, meaning funding for other project categories can proceed. •This reflects the Trump Administration’s goal of reprioritizing several existing grant programs to emphasize economic development and job creation rather than climate resilience and Environmental Justice 40 benchmarks sought by the Biden Administration. •We expect that funding allocated for this upcoming fiscal year to be generally unaffected after EO- mandated agency reviews, but future fiscal year funding opportunities will change to emphasize the new Administration’s grant funding priorities. •Going forward, Congress must enact a Surface Transportation Reauthorization bill as the IIJA is set to expire at the end of 2026. •The Becker Team will work with the Trump Administration to ensure that IIJA and IRA funding are implemented to the City’s advantage, or at least not scaled back to its disadvantage. We’ll also continue to work with the City’s delegation and appropriations staff in pursuing its FY26 funding priorities.