With the September 30th deadline rapidly approaching, appropriations committees in both the House and Senate have been debating and setting funding levels for transportation programs for next year, including the discretionary programs cut in the President’s budget request for 2018. This week the House is scheduled to consider their final House Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) appropriations bill. Currently, the House has supported removal of the TIGER grant program and reduced funding for transit.
TIGER funding was used for the KC Streetcar project as well as the new light rail station under construction in the St. Louis area. There is an opportunity right now for Missouri transit supporters to weigh in on the importance of these programs. Send a message to your representatives this week urging them to protect and preserve the TIGER program, funding for new transit projects, and passenger rail. Find out who your US Senator and Congressman is here.
Chart below from Transportation for America highlights the current funding levels for this year, what the President proposed in his budget earlier this year, and what was recently approved by appropriations committees in the House and the Senate.
| Enacted 2017 levels | President Trump’s request for 2018 | House 2018 Appropriations | Senate 2018 Appropriations | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TIGER Grants | $500 million | $0 | $0 | $550 million |
| Transit Capital Grants | $2.4 billion | $0 | $1.75 billion | $2.133 billion |
| Amtrak & passenger rail | $1.495 billion | $795 million
(All cuts come from eliminating federal funding for all long-distance routes) |
$1.4 billion | $1.6 billion |
| TOTAL THUD FUNDING | $57.65 billion | $47.4 billion | $56.5 billion | $60.058 billion |