Obama Administration Rejects House Transportation Appropriations Measure
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) voiced opposition the House fiscal year (FY) 2015 appropriations legislation for the departments of Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies, calling the bill an insufficient measure to address the nation’s pressing infrastructure needs, in a June 9 statement. House Republicans aim to pass the bill this month, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., said in a recent memo (see 14060904). The Senate Appropriations Committee advanced its counterpart legislation on June 5 (see 14060518).
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The House bill, HR-4745 (here), increases funds for the Federal Maritime Commission and the Federal Aviation Administration, but fails to provide adequate funds for Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grants, along with a raft of other underprovided programs, said the White House in a statement. “The funding level provided in the bill is a $500 million reduction below the FY 2014 enacted levels and would reduce an already highly competitive grant program and its ability to support innovative projects across the United States,” said OMB. “The committee's decision to eliminate grant funding eligibility for transit and passenger rail projects would stifle the multimodal innovation TIGER has helped spur since the program's inception.”