On March 6, the House of Representatives passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024 which provides funding for six key departments, including transportation, energy, housing and urban development, and others.

Passage of this compromise agreement, between the House and Senate, will help the construction industry to continue to deliver on a wide range of federal and federal-aid infrastructure projects, including but not limited to military facilities, veterans’ hospitals, roads, bridges, public transportation, levees, locks, dams and more.

The funding package also fully funds the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and includes additional funding for bridges and rural areas. This legislation also provides additional funding, on top of the amounts included in the IIJA, for the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving funds, more details can be found here.

This agreement will cut funding for certain discretionary grant programs that have allowed agency officials in Washington to pick and choose which projects advance and which do not. It has also allowed them to tack on additional requirements and priorities that align with the Biden agenda. Instead, these funds will go to Congressionally Directed Spending, that won’t include additional requirements, and are projects chosen by the Members of Congress that are more familiar with their local community’s needs.

AGC has been reporting on the near government shutdowns, which felt weekly, however this package is now poised to clear the Senate and be signed into law by the President.