Dear CAGTC Members,
On February 11, the White House released President Trump’s fiscal year 2021 budget request. Transportation infrastructure is divided in two pieces: a ten-year, $810 billion reauthorization proposal and an additional $190 billion in one-time FY21 funding authority for a total investment of $1 trillion over ten years. Whereas the President’s 2018 Budget request suggested $210 billion of federal investment to leverage up to $1 trillion in overall funding (the balance coming from private entities, state and local governments), this year’s proposal is calling for $1 trillion in direct federal investment. The budget acknowledges the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) shortfall and the explanatory language states the Administration’s interest in working with Congress to identify how to pay for these investments and its interest in ending General Fund bailouts of the HTF. The budget also promises that more details on its reauthorization proposal will be released in the coming months (As a reminder, the FAST Act expires September 30, 2020).
The full budget proposal can be found here and a fact sheet on the $190 billion infrastructure package can be found here.
Highlights of the transportation budget can be found below:
Ten-year $810 billion surface transportation reauthorization proposal
- The total investment is composed of $755 in mandatory spending from the Highway Trust Fund and $55 billion in authorizations of discretionary budget authority from the General Fund, including:
- $602 billion for FHWA highway programs
- $155 billion for FTA transit programs
- $19.8 billion for NHTSA and FMCSA highway safety programs
- $14.35 billion for FAA aviation programs and the Essential Air Service Program
- $1.486 billion for Amtrak services
- Competitive grant programs: the budget proposes authorizing the BUILD grant program under its reauthorization proposal (rather than by annual congressional appropriations) and provides $1 billion for FY21 but does not specify future amounts. The INFRA grant program is currently authorized by the FAST Act, however, consistent with his FY20 budget proposal, President Trump requested an additional $1 billion in general fund resources to supplement the program in FY21 (note: last year Congress did not adhere to this request in its THUD appropriations bill). The additional funds would not be subject to the multimodal cap. The CRISI grant program would receive $3.9 billion over ten years, including $330 for FY21. Under this proposal the Port Infrastructure Development Program would be eliminated, as the Administration believes “port projects should compete with other freight-related projects on an equal footing” through existing programs such as INFRA and BUILD.
- The proposal eliminates the current set-aside for the Transportation Alternatives program under the Surface Transportation Block Grant Program which accounted for more than $4 billion over five years under the FAST Act for pedestrian, bicycle, and other non-driver projects. The Administration asserts this change would provide states additional flexibility to support projects that “rehabilitate or expand highways in a manner that supports interstate or regional commerce.”
One-time budget authority
- $60 Billion for a new Building Infrastructure Great grants program: these funds would be directed for “mega-project” grants focused on the rehabilitation and expansion of core infrastructure, including road, bridge, rail, transit, pipeline, landside port, and intermodal connection capital investments; lock, dam, and canal investments; drinking water and waste treatment capital investments; and energy and broadband capital investments.
- $50 billion for a new Moving America’s Freight Safely and Efficiently program: the program provides both formula funding and discretionary grants for “projects with significant economic, mobility, and safety benefits on our strategic highway, rail, port, and waterway freight networks.” Including projects to address bottleneck areas by adding capacity, deploying innovative technologies, and expanding truck parking infrastructure.
- $35 billion for a new Bridge Rebuilding program: this program would provide $12 billion for “offsystem” bridges allocated via formula, and $23 billion for larger bridges distributed through a competitive process.
- $25 billion for a new Revitalizing Rural America program: funding for rural broadband, transportation, water and other infrastructure projects would be distributed via formula to states, territories and tribes, and bonus grants “will be provided based on the boldness of locally-developed investment and performance plans.”
- $20 billion for a Transit State of Good Repair Sprint program: program funds, combined with additional transit funding included in the reauthorization proposal, would go towards bringing transit assets into a state of good repair. The document notes that this program will focus exclusively on rehabilitating existing assets rather than building new capacity.
Thank you,
Cecile
Cecile Entleitner
Manager, Member Communications & Policy
Coalition for America’s Gateways and Trade Corridors
1625 K Street NW
Suite 1100
Washington, DC 20006
tradecorridors.org
(202) 828-9100