This week, the House passed a stopgap spending measure, or continuing resolution (CR), to fund the government through November 21, 2019. The current fiscal year expires on September 30, and without a stopgap measure, a government shutdown will occur.
While the House passed 10 of its 12 Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 appropriations bills before the August recess, the Senate didn’t release its FY20 appropriations bills until this month. The Senate’s FY20 Environment & Water Development bill passed through the Senate Appropriations Committee this week and includes $48.66 billion, an increase of $4.22 billion above the FY19 enacted level. It funds the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at $7.75 billion, an increase of $751.5 million above the FY19 enacted level.
Both the House and Senate Appropriations Committees have voted out their Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development (THUD) spending bills, which will need to be reconciled under conference. In both bills, ASCE made the following requests:
- Full funding for core highway and transit programs included in the FAST Act. The House bill provided overall funding above the authorization levels for core programs while the Senate bill provided less funding for core programs. The FY19 funding level was overall consistent with core program authorization levels.
- $4.35 billion for the Airport Improvement Program (AIP). The House bill included funding at the authorization level of $3.35 billion plus a $500 million supplemental while the Senate bill included a $450 million supplemental. The FY19 funding level was $3.35 billion plus a $500 million supplemental.
- $1.5 billion for the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grant program. Both the House and Senate bills fund the program at $1 billion. The FY19 funding level was $900 million.
- $ 2.6 billion for the Transit Capital Investment Grant (CIG) program. The House bill includes $2.3 billion for the program while the Senate bill includes $1.9 billion. The FY19 funding level was $2.3 billion.
Both the House and Senate bills will need to head to conference before Congress can vote on a final spending bill.