CAGTC Members,
As we informed you earlier this week, the Senate Appropriations Committee held a markup on their FY18 THUD bill yesterday, July 27. The bill kept the $19.47 billion in discretionary appropriations for USDOT for FY18, greater than both FY17 enacted appropriations levels and the House’s proposal.
The bill kept the $550 million for TIGER, $50 million greater than FY17 enacted levels. The Senate also moved to limit the Trump Administration’s ability to shape the TIGER program by requiring applications be considered according to the criteria the Obama Administration spelled out in the fiscal year 2016 notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) and mandating that USDOT “not use the Federal share as a selection criteria in awarding projects.”
As a reminder, the FY16 selection criteria included projects that improve the state of good repair, economic competitiveness, quality of life, environmental sustainability, and safety. Secondary selection criteria included innovation and partnership. The Senate bill does increase the rural project set-aside from 20 percent for 30 percent, which corresponds with the Trump Administration’s prioritization of rural projects. It would also lower the amount of money that can go to a single state annually from 10 percent to 5 percent.
The bill requires USDOT to issue the FY18 TIGER NOFO, with the FY16 selection criteria, within 45 days of the bill’s enactment. It then requires applications be due within 60 days of the NOFO’s release and announcements be made within 225 days of the legislation’s enactment. As a reminder, the FY17 TIGER NOFO has not yet been issued by the Trump administration, although it is expected soon according to the DOT.
This bill was approved by the full Senate Appropriations Committee by a unanimous vote and could now go to the full Senate for consideration. The text of the bill can be found here and a summary can be found here.
As a reminder, the House’s THUD legislation requested $17.8 billion for USDOT and did not include funding for the TIGER program. It was reported favorably by the full House Appropriations Committee on July 17 and could now go to the full House for consideration.
Thank you,
Katie Cross
Manager, Member Communications & Policy
Coalition for America’s Gateways and Trade Corridors
1444 Eye St N.W.
Suite 1100
Washington, DC 20005
(202) 828-9100
tradecorridors.org