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Before adjourning the first session of the 109th Congress, the House and the Senate approved an omnibus appropriations bill to provide funding to federal agencies for the remainder on Fiscal year 2008. The President is expected to sign the measure.
Funding for the Department of Transportation is included in the agreement. The bill funds the highway program at $41.2 billion, which includes the full amount guaranteed by SAFETEA-LU, plus an additional $1 billion in bridge funding that was originally included by the Senate following the Minneapolis bridge collapse. An additional $195 million is provided to rebuild the Minneapolis bridge. This is a $2.1 billion increase over FY 2007 and includes $631 million in Revenue Aligned Budget Authority (RABA) funds which result from an adjustment in the authorized funding level to reflect actual Highway Trust Fund receipts. The transit program is funded at $9.49 billion, a decrease from its authorized level of $9.65 billion.
The bill includes $3.5 billion for the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) virtually the same amount as FY 2007. The bill also extends the federal excise taxes on aviation thought February 29, 2008 to allow Congress time to continue its deliberations on reauthorization of FAA programs.
Highway Trust Fund Short Fall Remains a Problem
One issue left unresolved before Congress adjourned is the revenue shortfall in the Highway Trust Fund. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) are projecting that revenue into the HTF will fall short by $4.3 billion in FY 2009. Federal budget rules would require a cut of nearly $16 billion in highway funding in FY 2009 if this shortfall is not remedied. If additional revenues to the HTF are not found, states will face a nearly 40 percent cut in their federal highway funds next year. These figures will be revised in February when the calculations are redone using the latest numbers and could be more dire. In addition, Congress just passed an energy bill that, among other things, increases Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency (CAFÉ) requirements on auto manufacturers by 40 percent. It is projected that these new CAFÉ standards will further deplete HTF revenue by more than $2 billion over the next ten years.
Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-MT) and Ranking Republican Charles Grassley (IA) have taken the lead in attempting to address the shortfall and have successfully moved a bill through the committee. Attempts to add this bill to other pending legislation at the end of the session were not successful. This will remain a top legislative priority for AGC when Congress reconvenes.
 
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