(The following story by Jennifer Scholtes appeared on the Congressional Quarterly website on July 2, 2010.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A House Appropriations panel Thursday backed a $126.4 billion fiscal 2011 Transportation-HUD spending bill, despite Republican concerns about dipping into the Highway Trust Fund to pay for unrelated programs.
In a voice vote, the panel approved the draft bill that would provide funding levels about $3.3 billion higher than the fiscal 2010 Transportation-HUD funding contained in an omnibus spending package (PL 111-117). However, committee aides said the bill’s proposed $67.4 billion in discretionary spending is $1.3 billion less than the president’s request and $500 million less than the amount appropriated for fiscal 2010.
With a tight congressional calendar, the measure is unlikely to move to the House floor. As a result, Republicans introduced more amendments than usual for an appropriations markup to highlight their spending concerns.
Several amendments targeted projects paid for through the Highway Trust Fund, a pot of money largely funded by fuel taxes and dedicated to federal highway construction and maintenance and other transit projects.
From the fund, the draft measure proposes spending $200 million for Livable Communities, a Transportation Department program created to help improve access to affordable housing and transportation options and to lower transportation costs. The measure would provide a total of $527 million for the program, but the remainder would not come from the trust fund.
Republican Steven C. LaTourette of Ohio offered an amendment that would pay the $200 million for the program through the department’s national infrastructure investment account, instead of through the trust fund. The amendment was defeated, 5-8.
“I love bicycles, bicycle lanes, and I don’t think Secretary LaHood is on drugs, but I think this could come out of regular budget authority,” LaTourette said. “The trust fund is under attack.”
Subcommittee Chairman John W. Olver, D-Mass., accused LaTourette of ignoring the benefits of the program that lowers housing and transportation costs for low-income families.
LaTourette also failed, by a 5-8 vote, to win adoption of an amendment that would have prohibited contract authority money within the fund from being used for the Education Jobs Fund.
Another amendment, offered by Jerry Lewis, R-Calif., would have adjusted the ceiling on the trust fund to keep it in line with its actual balance rather than higher amount authorized for it.
Lewis stressed that the fund, which hovers at a $1.2 billion balance, has not kept up with the amounts authorized for it. His amendment was also voted down, 5-8.
“We can’t keep bailing out the trust fund,” Lewis said. “And we really shouldn’t do it since it’s the Appropriations Committee that’s driving the fund into bankruptcy.”
Since the trust fund is largely funded by motor fuel taxes and those taxes have not increased since the early 1990s, its revenue has not kept pace with the need for highway projects.
House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman James L. Oberstar has crafted draft legislation to fully reauthorize the fund, but the effort has been held up largely by lawmakers opposed to increasing fuel taxes to pay for it.
Spending Breakdown
The approved appropriations measure would provide a total of $79.3 billion for Transportation Department operations, nearly $3.7 billion more than appropriated for fiscal 2010 and $1.7 above the president’s request.
The funding for the department includes $16.5 billion for the Federal Aviation Administration, $45.2 billion for the Federal Highway Administration and $11.3 billion for the Federal Transit Administration. All three levels are higher than the president’s request and amounts provided for fiscal 2010.The Federal Railroad Commission, however, would receive $875 million less than fiscal 2010 levels, with an appropriation of $3.5 billion.
For housing programs, the draft bill would provide similar funding to the previous fiscal year and the president’s request. It would appropriate $17.2 billion for tenant-based rental assistance, $9.4 billion for project-based rental assistance and $4.4 billion for Community Development Block Grant programs.
Total funding for the Housing and Urban Development Department would be set at $46.6 billion, $520 million more than fiscal 2010 levels and about $1 billion more than the president’s request.
(Kathryn A. Wolfe contributed to this story.)