CAGTC Members,
In an effort to complete the appropriations process prior to the fiscal year deadline (October 1) the House Rules Committee introduced a minibus made up of the eight remaining appropriations bills, including the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) bill, that have yet to pass the House. While the text of the THUD portion remains the same as that originally introduced in the House – allocating $17.8 billion in discretionary funding for USDOT, $646 million less than FY17 enacted levels, and no funding for the TIGER grant program – the House Rules Committee opened the bill up for amendments last week.
Amendments were due on the minibus on August 25th and the House Rules Committee finished uploading all amendments online over the weekend. Included in the hundreds of amendments where four that, should they be officially added to the bill, would provide funding for TIGER:
- THUD Amendment #7, Rep. Waters (D-CA): provides $7.5 billion for TIGER through Sept 30, 2022 provided it is designated as an “emergency requirement.” Should the amendment be included in the bill and signed into law, President Trump would still need to designate the $7.5 billion as an emergency or else the funds cannot be spent.
- THUD Amendment #8, Rep Waters (D-CA): Provides $550 million for TIGER ($50 million above FY17 enacted levels) and lowers the amount of money that can go to a single state annually from 10 percent to 5 percent. It is unlikely this amendment will be allowed to be offered on the House floor because it lacks a budget offset and the Rules Chairman has required all amendments be budget-neutral.
- THUD Amendment #13, Rep DeLauro (D-CT): Provides $500 million for TIGER (equal to FY17 enacted levels) and keeps the amount of money that can go to a single state annually at 10 percent. It is unlikely this amendment will be allowed to be offered on the House floor because it lacks a budget offset and the Rules Chairman has required all amendments be budget-neutral.
- THUD Amendment #66, Rep. Blum (R-IA): provides $200 million for TIGER grants ($300 million less than FY17 enacted levels) and increases the amount of money that can go to a single state annual to 20 percent from 10 percent. This amendment is budget-neutral by reducing funding for HUD Public and Indian Housing by $200 million.
While the House is moving along in its appropriations process, the Senate has still yet to pass half of their appropriations bill out of committee. Therefore, Speaker Ryan said late last week it is likely Congress will have to pass a continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government funded for a short period of time while they work out the full FY18 appropriations package.
We will continue to monitor the appropriations process and keep Members up to date as the process moves along.
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