	Most Recent Developments

On September 5, Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Mary Peters announced that the Highway Trust Fund faced a shortfall as soon as October 2008, due to lower than expected revenues in 2008, and called on Congress to immediately pass legislation transferring general fund revenues to the Trust Fund, a step that the Administration had previously opposed. On July 10, the Senate Committee on Appropriations approved S. 3261 , the FY2009 THUD appropriations bill, and ordered it to be reported. The committee recommended $109.4 billion in funding, $6.6 billion more than the amount requested by the Administration. On June 20, 2008, the House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Transportation HUD (THUD) marked up an unnumbered draft FY2009 THUD appropriations bill. Instead, reports indicate that Congress will pass one or more continuing resolutions to keep the government operating after the end of FY2008, and complete the FY2009 appropriations process in calendar year 2009, when it will be dealing with a new Administration. The President's Budget Request

The President's net FY2009 request for the programs covered by this appropriations bill is $102.5 billion (after scorekeeping adjustments). This is $36 million (less than 1%) below the comparable total enacted for FY2008. The President's FY2009 Budget requests $39.1 billion, a less than 4% increase in total, regular (non-emergency) budget authority for HUD. Congress is considering legislation that would provide money from the general fund to the Highway Account in order to forestall the Highway Account deficit in FY2009. The major funding changes requested from the FY2008 enacted levels were
an increase of $644 million (7%) for transit; a decrease of $1.8 billion (-4%) in highway funding; a decrease of $525 million (-40%) in Amtrak funding (similar to requested decreases in FY2007 and FY2008 that were rejected by Congress); a decrease of $765 million (-22%) in the Federal Aviation Administration's Airport Improvement Program (similar to requested decreases in FY2007 and FY2008 that were rejected by Congress); and a decrease of $60 million (-54%) in funding for the Essential Air Service Program (similar to requested decreases in FY2007 and FY2008 that were rejected by Congress). On July 14, 2008, the Senate Committee on Appropriations reported out an FY2009 THUD appropriations bill, which included a recommendation that $8 billion be transferred from the general fund of the Treasury to the Highway Trust Fund to cover the shortfall. The House passed separate legislation ( H.R. The Administration request does include a cut to the Airport Improvement grant program. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)

The President's budget requested $40.1 billion in new funding for federal highway programs for FY2009, a cut of $1.8 billion (-4%) below the comparable level of $42.0 billion provided in FY2008. Authorizing funding is not the same as appropriating the money, however, and it is not clear that additional funding on that scale would be available. Housing and Urban Development Appropriations

Most of the funding for the activities of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) comes from discretionary appropriations provided each year in the annual appropriations acts enacted by Congress. Surplus FHA fees have been used to offset the cost of the HUD budget.
The FY2009 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies appropriations bill (THUD) provides funding for the Department of Transportation (DOT), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and five independent agencies related to those two departments.
The Bush Administration requested net budgetary authority of $102.5 billion (after scorekeeping adjustments) for FY2009, a cut of $36 million (less than 1%) from the comparable FY2008 level. DOT would receive a net total of $63.5 billion, a cut of $1 billion from the comparable FY2008 level. HUD would receive $39.1 billion, an increase of 4% ($1.4 billion) over the comparable FY2008 level. However, the requested increase in net budget authority for HUD is largely attributable to a decline in the amount available to offset new funding in the HUD budget. The President's budget request would actually result in an overall decline in non-emergency appropriations for HUD's programs and activities of just over 1% from the FY2008 level.
The House Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on THUD reportedly marked up a draft FY2009 THUD appropriations bill on June 20, 2008. The details of that draft have not been made public. The full committee has not yet marked up the bill, and it is not clear that it will do so. The Senate Committee on Appropriations marked up an FY2009 THUD bill, S. 3261, on July 10, 2008. The Senate committee recommended $109.4 billion, $6.6 billion more than the Administration requested.
Congressional leaders have been quoted in press reports indicating that they will not try to enact most of the FY2009 appropriations bills, including the THUD bill, until sometime after the next Administration has taken office in 2009. In the meantime, they reportedly intend to provide FY2009 funding for most federal agencies, including those in the THUD bill, through one or more continuing resolutions.
Among the THUD appropriation issues facing Congress is the impending deficit in the Highway Trust Fund. The portion of the Fund that provides money for federal highway programs has long been projected to have a $3 billion deficit by the end of FY2009; the portion that provides money for transit projects is projected to run a deficit in FY2011. The House passed separate legislation (H.R. 6532) to transfer $8 billion from the general fund to the Highway Trust Fund to prevent the FY2009 shortfall. This legislation was opposed by the Administration. However, on September 5, 2008, the Administration announced that revenues to the Fund had declined more than expected in recent months, resulting in the Fund facing a shortfall as early as October 2008. The Administration is now urging Congress to immediately pass the legislation transferring money to the Highway Trust Fund.
This report will be updated.