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New federal lobbyist briefs council on fast-moving Washington environment, flags risks to municipal funding
Summary
Covino Smith & Simon’s Jen Covino, the city’s new federal lobbyist, briefed the council on fiscal and regulatory developments in Washington, D.C., including the near-term risk that a full-year continuing resolution could delay earmarks and possible proposals affecting municipal bonds and federal grant programs.
Jen Covino of Covino Smith & Simon presented a federal affairs briefing to the Puyallup City Council on Feb. 25 after the city retained the firm to improve federal advocacy and grant competitiveness.
Covino summarized the national fiscal picture and what it could mean for local governments: Congress must act before March 14 to fund the federal government; a continuing resolution (CR) would likely mean no fiscal 2025 earmarks in the current cycle and could shift pending community project requests into fiscal 2026. She identified the city’s $810,000 community project request submitted through Rep. Marilyn Strickland for the Meeker Street project as one item that could be delayed if federal appropriations are handled by a CR.
Covino also flagged potential tax and municipal finance proposals in House and Senate budget discussions, including the possibility that lawmakers might target the federal tax exemption for interest on state and local bonds or change preferential treatment for private activity bonds—moves that, if enacted, would affect typical municipal financing tools for infrastructure and housing. She recommended that the city monitor reconciliation proposals and engage quickly if those offsets are proposed.
On executive branch activity, Covino said the White House had issued multiple executive orders that prompted agency-level reviews and, briefly, a guidance pause on disbursement of some federal assistance. She told the council she had been in contact with the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs and noted that the IGA team is being staffed and will be a point of contact for local governments.
Councilmembers welcomed the hire and asked Covino to include weekly written updates and targeted grant memos to city staff. Councilmember Adler asked that the Friday summaries be distributed to councilmembers; Covino said the firm will send two weekly Friday reports and other targeted grant notices to staff and the council.
