After four interim spending bills and more than four months into fiscal year 2024, Congress is finally on the verge of passing the first of two appropriations measures to keep government agencies open, including their construction programs and infrastructures, until September 30, at the end of the fiscal year.
Construction and transportation industry groups see much to like in the first of the two legislative packages, which includes a mix of generally small increases and cuts to infrastructure programs by key construction agencies such as the Departments. of Transportation, Energy, Veterans Affairs, and Housing and Urban Development along with the Environmental Protection Agency, military construction, and the US Army Corps of Engineers civil works program.
Seeking to avoid continued resolution
Officials released the text of Package 1 on March 3, and the House planned to vote on the measure in the coming days. Industry officials hope lawmakers will pass the bill soon instead of resorting to a perhaps year-long continuing resolution, or CR.
Michele Stanley, executive vice president and director of advocacy for the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association, said in an interview, “I’m glad to see that they’ve come to an agreement and that something is finally going to happen.”
Stanley adds, “The fact that it’s March and we’re still working on fiscal year 24, it’s hard for a lot of companies, big and small, to be able to plan for the year. So the fact that something actually happens, I think it’s a very positive thing.”
Also, Steve Hall, executive vice president of the American Engineering Companies Council, said in an interview, “We’re avoiding a CR for a year,” and for key highway and transit programs, a year would be freed up. complete with contractual authority. in the states For the agencies included in the package, Hall says, “It’s a decent result.”
Hall said that given the turmoil in the House over the presidency, the thin majorities in both chambers and the looming election, “Overall, I think it’s probably as good as we could hope for.”
The Associated General Contractors of America notes that provisional expense invoices pose a particular problem for construction companies.
In a March 5 letter to congressional leaders, Jimmy Christianson, AGC’s vice president of government relations, noted CRs prohibit federal construction agencies from initiating new projects or program starts while shutdowns are in effect. He said that in order to build projects, agencies and the construction industry “require credit accounts for the whole year”.
Stay true to the IIJA
Among the bill’s appropriations, many in the industry are focused on the DOT accounts. Infrastructure advocates were especially pleased to see the bill stay true to the highway and transit bond limits set out in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021. The dollars come from the Highway Trust Fund.
The bill sets the freeway “traffic cap” at $60.1 billion, up $1.3 billion, or 2.2 percent, from 2023. It sets the traffic cap at just under 14 billion dollars, 2.6% more than in 2023.
Susan Howard, director of policy and government relations for the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, said in an interview: “Overall, the message seems to be that appropriators are following the intent of the IIJA and then doing their own tweaks. [in] that which is under its jurisdiction”.
But Howard also notes that lawmakers made some cuts to the DOT category. For example, they cut the RAISE discretionary grant program by $455 million, or 57%, to a total of $345 million. RAISE stands for Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity. The program, launched in 2009, was previously called TIGER and later BUILD.
The American Public Transportation Association said it strongly supports the bill, noting that it includes $14 billion for the transit bond cap, the mark set in the IIJA.
APTA said that with the combination of forward allocations contained in the IIJA and new allocations from the latest spending package, transit is getting a total of $20.9 billion, 2% less than levels enacted for fiscal year 2023.
Civil Works of the Corps receives a boost
One infrastructure program that is doing relatively well in the new package is the Civil Works of the Corps of Engineers. The bill increases that percentage by 4%, year over year, to $8.7 billion.
Within that total, the Corps’ construction account would receive $1.85 billion, a 2 percent increase over the fiscal year 2003 enacted level. The agency’s operation and maintenance account would increase 9 percent, to 5.53 billion dollars.
Waterway interests were excited by the numbers on the Corps River lock and dam projects.
“We are ecstatic,” said Tracy Zia, president and CEO of Waterways Council Inc.
Zia says the new package includes $456 million for inland waterways construction, which will fund the completion of three major projects: the replacement of the Chickamauga Lock on the Tennessee River, the Lower Monongahela River locks and dam on the western Pennsylvania and the Three Rivers Environmental and Navigation Project, where the Arkansas, Mississippi, and White rivers meet. “So for us, this bill is massive,” Zia said in an interview.
EPA’s water infrastructure avoided deep cuts
For the EPA, the agency’s main water infrastructure account was down just 1% to $4.48 billion.
Within that total, the clean water and drinking water state revolving funds (SRF) were frozen at their 2023 levels of $1.6 billion and $1.1 billion, respectively.
A common thread running through the new spending package is its large number of “congressionally directed spending” and “community project funding” items or earmarks.
The National Association of Clean Water Agencies is pleased to see that water programs “have been spared deep cuts,” including SRFs, says Kristina Surfus, managing director of government affairs.
But Surfus adds: “While we are pleased to see many important local water projects supported [as] Projects directed by Congress, we are deeply concerned that these earmarks are funded with SRF dollars.”
She says, “This situation is not sustainable for SRFs once [IIJA] supplements end in fiscal year 26.”
ACEC Hall says one EPA program that was hit hard is Superfund.
The hazardous materials cleanup account was reduced by $745 million, or 58%.
Among other major programs, military construction was cut by $325 million, or 2%. VA major construction was down $487 million, or 34%.
Lawmakers now face another deadline: If the new spending measure doesn’t clear both chambers and receive President Joe Biden’s signature on March 8, Congress would have to resort to another short-term continuing resolution, or CR. It would be the fifth stoppage enacted since October 1.
Still to come is action on the other spending package, which includes other federal agencies that include funding for construction programs such as federal buildings at the General Services Administration and the construction of the U.S. Embassy. Department of State. This bill has a March 22 deadline.
