ROUTE FIFTY
By Bill Lucia
WASHINGTON — Millions of dollars for federal grant programs that pump money to state and local governments would be shifted around and slashed under a transportation, housing and urban development appropriations bill that a U.S. House subcommittee approved on Tuesday night.
But the legislation rejects many of the deep cuts President Trump called for in his fiscal year 2018 budget proposal. And it’s all but certain that the funding levels outlined for various programs in the House bill will change as Congress continues its work in the weeks ahead to develop a spending plan for the upcoming budget cycle.
Now that the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development has approved the bill, the measure will advance to the full Appropriations Committee.
In total, the bill includes $56.5 billion in discretionary funding—$1.1 billion below enacted levels, but $8.6 billion above the president’s budget request.