On July 12, a subcommittee in the U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation that would fund the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) through fiscal year 2024. The bill would provide $90.2 billion for programs at USDOT and Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
“The bill before the subcommittee responsibly funds our most critical transportation and housing needs, which will have a positive impact on every congressional district,” said Tom Cole, Chairman for the Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Subcommittee.
The funding the House bill would provide is:
“This bill prioritizes highway, railway, and aviation safety while maintaining housing assistance for our nation’s most vulnerable,” according to background the panel provided.
Fiscal-year funding authority for federal agencies requires renewal by October 1 to avoid a partial government shutdown.
Before the congressional debate, President Joe Biden issued his budget request for fiscal 2024. Biden proposed nearly $1 billion for FMCSA. The White House budget proposal also would provide FHWA with $60.8 billion, FTA with $17 billion, the FRA with $4.8 billion, and NHTSA with $1.3 billion.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg urged lawmakers to support Biden’s budget earlier this year.
“Our transportation system is at a turning point. We are finally in the process of renewing its physical foundations, but we are also grappling with serious vulnerabilities — especially in areas where federal oversight and regulation have been undermined — which pose very real dangers to workers, families and communities,” the secretary said. “In recent years, Congress has proven that it can deliver — on a bipartisan basis — the kind of transformative infrastructure law that evaded our predecessors for decades.”
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Source: TTNews.com
