Bill that would mean $54M reallocation for JXN Water stalls in Senate

A bill that would deliver millions of dollars in operating capital to JXN Water is being held up in the U.S. Senate.

On September 19, the House narrowly voted to approve a continuing resolution to fund the government through fiscal year 2026.

However, the measure fell in the upper chamber on a 44-48 vote.

According to NBC News, if a spending bill is not approved by October 1, it could trigger a government shutdown.

The measure also could have ramifications in the city of Jackson, in particular, on whether JXN Water will have the money needed to operate.

The bill includes a provision that would allow the utility to use $54 million in State Revolving Fund loans to cover day-to-day operations.

That money was awarded to the city in 2022 as part of an omnibus spending bill to help address Jackson’s ongoing water crisis.

The $600 million package included $400 million in no-interest, zero-repayment SRF loans and $150 million in technical assistance dollars.

Interim Third-Party Manager Ted Henifin has been using the technical assistance funds to cover operations while issues with the billing system are sorted out.

However, that money ran out earlier this year, and collections hover around 71 percent.

Henifin, meanwhile, still has the majority of the $400 million in SRF funds available. But under the federal law authorizing the funds, the dollars can only be used for infrastructure improvements.

For months, Henifin has been working with Congress to reallocate a portion of those funds.

On September 16, a provision allowing the reallocation was included in the language of H.R. 5371, a continuing resolution to keep the federal government open through 2026.

The resolution passed the House on Friday on a 217-212 vote, with members voting largely along party lines.

That same division could be seen in the votes from the Mississippi delegates. According to Congress’s website, Republican Reps. Michael Guest, Trent Kelly, and Mike Ezell all backed the measure, while Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Democrat, voted against it.

In the Senate, both Sens. Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith - two Republicans - voted in favor.

In a September 16 letter to JXN Water, Thompson explained why he did not support the legislation.

3 On Your Side reviewed a copy of the two-page letter, which chided the third-party manager for failing to communicate with Thompson’s office.

“For nearly two years, I have received no substantive communication or detailed accounting of how these federal dollars have been managed... Given my role in securing these resources, this lack of communication reflects a disregard for the leadership and support I have provided,” he wrote.

Thompson was referring to the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, the bill that included the $600 million allocation.

The Bolton Congressman was the lone Mississippi Congressman who voted in favor of the measure. Wicker later supported the bill in the Senate.

Said Thompson, “It is concerning that my office has been sidelined until this late stage. Now you are belatedly seeking my support to reallocate funds without explaining how millions of dollars have already been spent... The people of Jackson have endured decades of neglect and mismanagement of their water system, and the stakes could not be higher.”

Thompson’s office provided a copy of the letter to 3 On Your Side. It is provided below.