Publish Date : 03-Aug-2018
The U.S. Senate voted 92-6 to allocate $71.4 billion in discretionary budget authority for critical transportation, housing, and community development programs in the fiscal year 2019 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) Appropriations bill. The THUD bill was included in a minibus spending package, which combined four fiscal year 2019 appropriations bills Agriculture; Financial Services; Interior-Environment; and Transportation-HUD into one spending package.
U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), Ranking Member of the THUD Appropriations Subcommittee, worked with Chairman Susan Collins (R-ME) to write and pass the THUD bill, which includes pressing infrastructure and housing priorities to benefit Rhode Island. Overall, the bill represents a $1.1 billion increase over fiscal year 2018 including nearly $10.9 billion in additional infrastructure spending authority as compared to fiscal year 2017.
Reed says the bill will provide Rhode Island with a significant boost in housing, transportation, and community development funding. This bipartisan bill provides critical investments to improve our transportation and housing infrastructure and to connect more Americans to jobs and opportunities. It will help strengthen our economy, create jobs, and provide federal funding to upgrade our roads, bridges, airports, seaports, and transit systems, said Senator Reed. Chairman Collins and I worked hard to secure additional federal resources for core housing and transportation projects, economic development initiatives, homelessness prevention, and lead-based paint remediation programs.
Reed noted that the bill directs over $26 billion in discretionary appropriations to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) in order to improve the safety, reliability, and efficiency of our transportation networks. These investments will allow for the development of transformative projects across all modes of transportation and will make significant strides to address the deferred maintenance backlog in our airport, highway, rail, and transit systems.
I am pleased we were able to secure major increases to help states repair and replace aging bridges. It is imperative that the federal government partner with states to upgrade existing bridge infrastructure to prevent more costly repairs and emergencies down the road, noted Reed. We must make smart investments to improve the safety and efficiency of our transportation network, which is the backbone of our economy.
The bill also provides over $49 billion in programmatic funding for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and resoundingly rejects the Presidents proposal to eliminate rental assistance for hundreds of thousands of households through attrition, as well as the proposed administrative claw-backs of HUDs rental assistance, which increase rent burdens on already financially-stressed tenants. Furthermore, the bill restores funding for critical housing production and economic development programs, which were proposed for elimination in the Presidents budget request. This includes sustained investments in the HOME program and the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, which give local governments needed resources to develop their communities, support businesses, create jobs, and ensure the availability of decent, affordable housing.
The Senate THUD bill provides needed investments to expand affordable housing opportunities and offers a strong, bipartisan blueprint we can build on, continued Reed. I am also committed to maintaining strong support for programs, such as CDBG and HOME, which are critically important to families and communities.
Highlights of the bill include:
Department of Transportation
Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER): The bill includes $1 billion for the popular TIGER program, which is now also referred to as the BUILD program. The bill rejects the Presidents proposal to eliminate this competitive grant funding, which helps states and communities to make transformative investments in their transportation infrastructure. Since 2010, Rhode Island has been awarded $108 million in competitive TIGER grants, including a $20 million grant awarded earlier this year for repairs and upgrades along Route 37 in Cranston and Warwick. The bill rejects administrative changes the Trump administration put forward in the FY 2018 competition and instructs DOT to follow earlier program guidance.
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA): The bill provides $49.3 billion for critical highway infrastructure, an increase of $3.3 billion above the FAST ACT authorized level. This level of funding is $1.8 billion above the fiscal year 2018 level and $3.5 billion above the budget request. The proposed general fund increase to the FAST Act authorized level includes $2.4 billion in FHWA formula funds, $90 million for railway-highway grade crossing safety, and $800 million for bridge repair and replacement, generating an estimated 42,900 jobs. The $800 million formula bridge program will provide grants to states and the District of Columbia based on the percentage of bridges in poor condition. According to the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, nearly a quarter of Rhode Islands 1,162 bridges across the state are structurally deficient.
Under this allocation, Senator Reed estimates Rhode Island will receive over $236.5 million for federal highway programs in contract authority under the FAST Act, plus an additional $69.3 million in general fund appropriations increases, for a total of $305.8 million. Within the general fund increases, Rhode Island will receive $13.3 million in formula highway programs, $55.5 million from the bridge repair and replacement program, and $450,000 for railway-highway crossings improvements.
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