Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO), chairman of the VA-HUD Appropriations Subcommittee, is working on a proposal to increase funding for veterans groups that the senator and other observers say could allow the panel to restore at least some of the $500 million in clean water funds the House cut from EPA's fiscal year 2004 budget.
Bond's efforts come after intense lobbying by a bipartisan group of senators and a broad coalition of environmentalists, states and water utility officials reiterated the importance of restoring the funds.