The FY 2015 Transportation and Housing and Urban Development (THUD) appropriations bill failed to move forward in both the House and Senate this week. Both bills provided AGC-supported funding levels for federal highway and transit programs and the Airport Improvement Program, but differed in their overall funding levels, with the Senate bill’s estimated funding nearly $10 billion more than the House bill.
The House bill’s fate was sealed when Republican leadership decided to postpone its consideration as it became clear they did not have the votes to pass the bill, despite the fact that it was written at budget levels provided in the Ryan Budget – which was supported by the majority of the Republican Conference. The bill was not expected to be supported by any Democrats because of cuts to Amtrak and HUD community development block grants, among others. In the Senate, the bill did not get the necessary 60 votes to move forward falling six votes short – 54-43.
What all this means is that the THUD bill will likely not pass the House or the Senate before the end of the fiscal year, requiring passage of a continuing resolution in order to keep the government running. THUD is not alone; none of the other 11 appropriations bills will pass both chambers before September 30, hence the need for a continuing resolution.
AGC will continue to advocate for the prioritization of federal construction spending throughout the appropriations process and a return to regular order to avoid future continuing resolutions.
For more information, please contact Sean O’Neill at (202) 547-8892 or oneills@agc.org.
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