Senate Advances T-HUD Infrastructure Funding Bill

Early last week, the United States Senate Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee approved a fiscal year 2020 appropriations bill that authorized approximately $86.6 billion in transportation spending.

The full Senate Appropriations Committee advanced the bill on Thursday. The bill’s funding is $167 million more than the fiscal year 2019 budget. It also earmarks $25.3 billion in discretionary appropriations and $61.3 billion in obligation limitations for the U.S. Department of Transportation. Federal funding for the current fiscal year expires September 30.

Here are some highlights of how the legislation will affect infrastructure spending: 

• $1 billion for Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grants
• $46.3 billion in funding from the Highway Trust Fund for the Federal-Aid Highway Program (including $1.25 billion for bridge repairs in small states and $1.25 billion for the Surface Transportation Block Grant funds and for hazardous railway-highway crossings) 
• $13 billion for Federal Transit Administration projects and ongoing programs
• $2.8 billion towards rail projects funded by the Federal Railroad Administration
• $1.9 billion for transportation safety projects, including $972 million in budgetary funding for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• $904 million for maritime projects, including ports and intermodal water and land transportation