Short Term Continuing Resolution Introduced to Keep Government Operating Includes Transportation

This week, the House Appropriations Committee introduced a continuing resolution (CR) to fund the daily activities of the federal government, from the start of the fiscal year (FY) 2014 on Oct. 1 through Dec. 15, 2013.  The CR will fund the government at current post-sequestration levels. The CR is necessary because the House and Senate have failed to enact any of their 12 annual appropriations bills, including the transportation funding bill.  The length of the CR is intended to allow congressional leaders and the president time to deal with the need to raise the nation’s debt ceiling and other budget issues without the threat of a government shutdown. However, an attempt by House republicans to cut off funding for enforcement of the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) will be a major issue as the legislation moves forward and could lead to a government shutdown. Transportation programs were included in this short term CR and will be included in the CR covering the rest of the fiscal year once approved. While both the House and Senate committees passed separate transportation appropriations bills neither body approved its version of the bill. Both committee bills funded the highway and transit programs at the MAP-21 approved levels, however, the CR would fund these programs at the FY 2013 level which is slightly below the MAP-21 FY 2014 authorized level. AGC will be weighing in to ensure that full funding is included in the CR when approved. One major difference between the House and Senate passed bills is for the Tiger grant program. The House bill provides no funding for this program in FY 2014 and rescinds any remaining FY 2013 TIGER funding while the Senate bill funds the program at $550 million in FY 2014.