Congress has completed action on compromise omnibus appropriations legislation to fund government operations through the remainder of fiscal 2020 and the President has said he will sign the measure before the current continuing resolution expires on December 20. US Department of Transportation (US DOT) programs are included in the deal. The legislation funds the highway and transit programs at FAST Act authorized levels and includes an additional $2.676 billion from the general fund (see chart below). This is the third year in a row that these programs have received supplemental general fund dollars but since the supplemental funding is below last year’s amounts the net result is flat funding for the highway program and a net decrease in transit formula funding. The agreement also cuts transit Capital Investment Grants by $575 million below last year’s level. The Airport Improvement Program will be funded at $3.75 million, $400 million above authorized levels but down $100 million from FY 2019. Congress continues to favor the Build grant program, which funds multi-modal projects, by increasing the funding by $100 million above last year’s level to $1 billion. As this is the final year of FAST Act authorization, AGC has made reauthorization a priority in this Congress to avoid future disruptions to highway and transit funding.
