Skip to main content
The Joint Economic Committee’s Democratic staff estimates that the total cost of flooding in the United States is between $179.8 and $496.0 billion each year in 2023 dollars. The graph below shows the lower-bound estimate of what flooding costs the country in total each year. It is important to note that, while climate change is increasing the cost of flooding, there is significant uncertainty around what the true total cost of flooding is in any given year. Regardless of the exact number, it is clear that floods represent a massive cost to the U.S. economy.
Hace unas semanas, la administración Biden tomó acciones para proteger a los trabajadores, aumentar los salarios, reducir la contaminación y proporcionar más electricidad limpia. Estas medidas se basan en los proyectos de ley históricos para invertir en energía limpia, impulsar la manufactura, reducir los costos para las familias, y apoyar a los sindicatos, que, debido a las iniciativas de los demócratas en los últimos años, el congreso aprobó.

Muchas de estas regulaciones desafían a los intereses de los grandes corporativos, por lo que no sorprende que grupos empresariales importantes y sus aliados republicanos ya estén intentando de utilizar los tribunales para bloquear estas acciones. En contraste, la administración Biden y los demócratas en el congreso seguirán defendiendo a los trabajadores y nuestro medio ambiente ante esta oposición.
The Compacts of Free Association (COFAs) grant the United States unfettered, exclusive military access to a strategic area in the Indo-Pacific, allow Freely Associated States (FAS) citizens to live and work in the United States and its territories as lawful non-immigrants, and provide economic support and security assistance for the FAS. The COFAs govern the relationships between the United States and the three sovereign nations collectively known as the FAS: the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), and the Republic of Palau. In March 2024, President Biden and the U.S. Congress affirmed this relationship for the next 20 years by renewing the COFAs and providing $7.1 billion in economic assistance agreements.

By renewing the COFAs, the United States affirms its relationships with the FAS, asserting a strategic position in the Indo-Pacific region to deter Chinese government influence and provide economic assistance for health care, education, infrastructure, the environment, and climate change adaptation. This benefits not only the FAS but the U.S. economy and national security as well.
Groundwater, or water found underground, plays an outsize role in supporting the U.S. economy, with 90% of U.S. water systems relying on groundwater to meet demand. It is particularly vital for agricultural production and for the estimated 13 million American households that rely on private wells for their drinking water. In the United States, approximately 30% of the freshwater used for drinking, cooking, agriculture, and other important needs comes from groundwater.

Groundwater is a life-giving resource in every state across the United States, which also means threats like drought, contamination, and overuse threaten the entire nation. Recent analyses have shown that climate change and overpumping pose an increasing threat to the quality and quantity of groundwater supplies across the United States. Given the importance of groundwater to the U.S. economy and public health, it is essential that local, state, and federal governments build on recent federal investments in infrastructure and invest in proven management strategies to protect this vital resource.