Bush Administration Releases FY 2009 Budget - $10.135 Billion Proposed for Transit -- Economic Stimulus Package Approved Without Funds for Transit
February 15, 2008
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The President's Budget
The Bush Administration released its budget proposal for Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 on Monday, February 4. The Administration recommends $10.1 billion for the federal transit program - a $644 million (6.8 percent) increase over the level appropriated in FY 2008, but $202 million short of the amount authorized and guaranteed in the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU). The budget recommends full funding for the Formula and Bus Grants Programs, but seeks only $1.6 billion for the New Starts program, which is more than $188 million short of the amount authorized in SAFETEA-LU. The budget also recommends $10.2 million less than the authorized level for the Research and University Centers program and a small cut in the authorized level for the Federal Transit Administration (FTA).
Transfer of Funds. The budget request also recommends that Congress authorize the U.S. Treasury to transfer funds from the Mass Transit Account (MTA) of the Highway Trust Fund to the Highway Account to address the projected impending insolvency of the Highway Account next year. The Administration estimates that this could require a transfer of up to $3.2 billion out of the Mass Transit Account by the end of FY 2009. Although this would not affect funding levels for FY 2009, APTA has strenuously objected to this proposal because absent new funding legislation, if the proposal is enacted, the mass transit account would not have enough money to fund transit programs at current levels as soon as FY 2010. The leaders of the House Appropriations Committee, as well as many of APTA's partners in the transportation industry, including American Association of State Transportation Officials (AASHTO), American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA), and Americans for Transportation Mobility (ATM), have expressed their opposition to the proposal.
Details of the Administration's FY 2009 budget proposal for FTA are provided by the Office of Management and Budget in the Appendix to the budget of the United States Government, FY 2009. The Appendix contains proposed text of appropriations language, budget schedules for each account, and other information. FTA's proposed budget begins on page 867 of the FY 2009 Appendix, available at:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2009/pdf/appendix/dot.pdf
For more information on the Administration's FY 2009 budget proposal, please contact Paul Dean of APTA's Government Affairs Department at (202) 496-4887 or email pdean@apta.com.
Transit Security. The Administration's budget proposal requests $175 million for transit security in FY 2009. This is significantly less than the $400 million appropriated by Congress for the program in FY 2008 and the $750 million authorized for FY 2009 in H.R. 1, the 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act of 2007, which the President signed into law last year. APTA has expressed strong objection to the President's proposal to reduce funding for transit security. The Administration's proposal would fund only 23 percent of the amount authorized, potentially leaving millions of the nation's transit customers at risk.
Details of the Administration's FY 2009 budget proposal for the Department of Homeland Security are provided by the Office of Management and Budget in the Appendix to the Budget of the United States Government, FY 2009. The Administration's proposed funding begins on page 475 of the FY 2009 Appendix, available at:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2009/pdf/appendix/dhs.pdf
For more information on the Administration's FY 2009 budget proposal, please contact Tom Yedinak of APTA's Government Affairs Department at (202) 496-4865 or email tyedinak@apta.com.
Economic Stimulus Legislation
On February 7, 2008, the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives passed an economic stimulus package (H.R. 5140, the "Recovery Rebates and Economic Stimulus for the American People Act of 2008") that will provide tax rebate checks to many Americans while offering incentives for businesses to invest in new equipment and provide relief from tax losses. The President signed the package into law this week. This legislation did not include a proposed amendment that would have provided $1 billion for transit projects and other infrastructure investments. Despite strong support from the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee and the Senate Banking Committee, a proposal to include infrastructure spending in the bill was not considered due to the desire of Congress and the Administration to quickly pass a stimulus bill that did not include new spending for federal programs. The development of a second stimulus package, that may include funding for infrastructure, is currently being discussed by Congressional leadership. APTA staff is working closely with Congressional staff to ensure that any subsequent stimulus package includes transit investments.
APTA thanks its members who responded to our survey over the last month by providing examples of "ready-to-go projects" for consideration in the stimulus package. With your input, we were able to compile a list of projects that totaled more than $3.6 billion. This list was used by the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee and the Senate Banking Committee as justification for adding transit infrastructure to the stimulus bill, and it will continue to be an important tool as the debate over a subsequent stimulus bill continues.
For more information on the economic stimulus legislation, please contact Paul Dean of APTA's Government Affairs Department at (202) 496-4887 or email pdean@apta.com.
Transit Apportionments
FTA has released its apportionments for transit programs for FY 2008. The apportionments are based on the amounts provided by Congress in SAFETEA-LU and the Omnibus Appropriations bill for FY 2008 in December. The apportionments list the distribution procedures and amounts for all formula and discretionary transit grant programs and have been published in two separate Federal Register Notices. The first notice, published on January 28, lists apportionments for all formula grant programs, research grant programs, the New Starts program and the Clean Fuels Grant program. It can be found at the following link:
http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20081800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/pdf/08-214.pdf
The second notice was published on February 12 and includes apportionments for the Bus and Bus Facilities program earmarks and Alternatives Analysis program earmarks provided in the conference report accompanying the Omnibus Appropriations bill. That notice can be found at:
http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20081800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/pdf/08-593.pdf
For more information on the transit apportionments, please contact Paul Dean of APTA's Government Affairs Department at (202) 496-4887 or email pdean@apta.com.
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