House Nears Vote on First 2023 Spending Bills

Abstract

July 14, 2022 KEYWORDS Congress / Construction Spending Order Reprints No Comments Thanks to a burst of late June activity by the House Appropriations Committee, the first batch of fiscal year 2023 spending bills was nearing a House floor vote by the week of July 18. Based on the bills' totals as they emerged from committee, the numbers show a mix of increases and cuts for construction programs compared with funding levels enacted for 2022.The House committee's bill funding DOT would provide a 2% hike for the Federal Highway Administration's highway obligation limit, a critically important account. Looking at the House panel bill's DOT numbers, Brian Turmail, Associated General Contractors of America vice president of public affairs and strategic initiatives, says, "The biggest takeaway ... was how [lawmakers] are proposing to freeze the large discretionary grant funding and instead significantly increase the amount that goes into earmarks, compared to what they did in the House last year."For example, under the bill, DOT's popular Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity competitive infrastructure grant program would be frozen at 2022's $775-million level. Examples of transportation earmarks can be found in a line item for highway infrastructure programs, which draws on the general fund, not the Highway Trust Fund. Among aviation programs, an airport grants-in-aid account, which taps the general fund, would more than double, to $554 million. Winners among non-DOT programs in the committee bills include General Services Administration's federal buildings construction and acquisition, which would more than triple, and GSA's buildings renovations, with a 66% boost. John Doyle, special counsel with law and lobbying firm Jones Walker LLP, says the bill has strong funding for coastal construction projects, but he calls the amount for inland waterway projects "Terribly disappointing," at $88.6 million.