On June 7, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved its fiscal year 2019 funding bill for transportation infrastructure. The bill includes $48.57 billion in funding for highways by adding $3.3 billion from the general fund to the FAST Act-authorized level of $45.27 billion, to be mostly distributed via formula.  Additionally, $800 million will be set aside for bridge grants and $90 million is set aside for grade crossings. As far as transit, the bill provides $9.9 billion for formula grants with an additional $800 million from the general fund for transit infrastructure grants.  The bill also provides $2.6 billion for Capital Investment Grants.
The bill also includes $1 billion for BUILD Grants (formerly known as TIGER), $250 million more than the House bill provides.  For aviation, the bill provides $4.1 billion for the Airport Improvement Program thanks to a general fund supplement of $750 million, in addition to the $3.35 billion in Airport and Airways Trust Fund spending.  Unfortunately, the bill does not contain language that was included in last year’s bill increasing the Passenger Facility Charge that can be charged by airport to fund/finance their airport infrastructure.
It is unclear when the bill will be considered by the entire Senate.  AGC will continue to weigh-in and ensure that the final funding bill provides the maximum increases for these transportation programs.
For more information, contact Sean O’Neill at [email protected] or (202) 547-8892.