	Most Recent Developments

On December 30, 2005, President Bush signed the FY2006 Department of Defenseappropriations bill into law ( P.L. 109-148 ). The bill also provided$2.8 billion in supplemental funding to the Department of Transportation for response to theconsequences of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma. On November 30, 2005, President Bush signed H.R. 3058 into law ( P.L.109-115 ). The bill had been passed by Congress on November 18. (1) The bill provided $60.7 billionin net budgetary resources for the Department of Transportation, less than either the House or Senateversions, but $1.0 billion (1.6%) more than the FY2005 enacted level and $2.4 billion (4.1%) morethan the Administration requested. On October 20, 2005, the Senate passed H.R. The Senate provided $64.2 billion for theDepartment of Transportation, $4.2 billion over the FY2005 enacted level and $5.9 billion over theAdministration's request for FY2006. Status of FY2006 Department of TransportationAppropriations (H.R. These figures reflect the 0.83% across-the-board rescission included in P.L.108-447 . (2) Themajor funding changes from FY2005 are in the requests for Amtrak ($1.2 billion(100%) below FY2005) and in the Federal Aviation Administration's AirportImprovement Program ($500 million (14%) below FY2005). (3) 
The FY2006 budget also reflects a statutory change to one of the DOT'sAdministrations. The Norman Y. Mineta Research and Special ProgramsImprovement Act, which was enacted as P.L. The House approved two transportation-relatedamendments to the bill, increasing the level of funding for Amtrak beyond theCommittee-recommended level, and striking the Committee-recommended provisionbarring federal funding for Amtrak routes with per-passenger subsidy levels of $30or more. The Senate Committee on Appropriations recommended $64.2 billion;increases over the House proposal were provided for the Federal HighwayAdministration (FHWA) the Federal Railroad Administration (mostly for Amtrak),while less funding was proposed for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) andthe Federal Transit Administration (FTA) than was proposed by the House. The conference agreementprovided $2.5 billion. The House provided $1.3 billion, adding $626 million througha floor amendment increasing funding for Amtrak. The Senate Committee on Appropriations recommended $1.45 billion forAmtrak, $274 million more than the House-passed figure. The Committee alsorecommended several provisions affecting Amtrak operations. 108-426 , 118 Stat. The statute creates two new operatingadministrations in place of the Research and Special Programs Administration(RSPA). The Administration requested $6.3 million for RITA in the FY2006 budgetto carry out DOT's priorities for innovation and research in transportationtechnologies and concepts, up from a comparable level of $4.3 million in FY2005.The House Committee on Appropriations recommended $4.3 million for FY2006;the House concurred. 107-71 ), legislation whichcreated the Transportation Security Administration within the DOT
BRR: Bridge Replacement and Rehabilitation program (FHWA)
BTS: Bureau of Transportation Statistics
CMAQ: Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality program (FHWA)
DOT: Department of Transportation
EAS: Essential Air Service (FAA)
F&E: Facilities and Equipment program (FAA)
FAA: Federal Aviation Administration
FAHP: Federal-Aid Highway Program (FHWA)
FHWA: Federal Highway Administration
FMCSA: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
FRA: Federal Railroad Administration
FTA: Federal Transit Administration
Hazmat: Hazardous materials (safety program in PHMSA)
HPP: High Priority Projects (FHWA)
HTF: Highway Trust Fund
IM: Interstate Maintenance program (FHWA)
ITS: Intelligent Transportation Systems (FHWA)
MCSAP: Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (FMCSA)
New Starts: part of the FTA's Capital Grants and Loans Program which funds newfixed-guideway systems or extensions to existing systems
NHS: National Highway System; also a program within FHWA
NHTSA: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
NMCSA: National Motor Carrier Safety Administration
O&M: Operations and Maintenance program (FAA)
OIG: Office of the Inspector General
OST: Office of the Secretary of Transportation
PHMSA: Pipeline Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
RABA: Revenue-Aligned Budget Authority
RITA: Research and Innovative Technology Administration
RD&T: Research, Development and Technology program (FHWA)
RE&D: Research, Engineering and Development program (FAA)
RSPA: the former Research and Special Projects Administration
SAFETEA-LU: Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: ALegacy for Users ( P.L. 109-59 ).
The Department of Transportation (DOT) is funded through annual appropriations acts. ForFY2006, the Administration requested $58.3 billion for the Department of Transportation. This is$1.4 billion (2%) less than the $59.7 billion provided for FY2005. The major proposed reductionswere the Administration's zeroing out of Amtrak (down from $1.2 billion in FY2005) and areduction in funding for the Airport Improvement Program (to $3.0 billion, $500 million (14%)below FY2005's $3.5 billion).
The FY2006 budget also reflected a statutory change to one of the DOT's operatingadministrations. The Norman Y. Mineta Research and Special Programs Improvement Act ( P.L.108-426 ; 118 Stat. 2423) created two new operating administrations in place of the former Researchand Special Programs Administration (RSPA): the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials SafetyAdministration (PHMSA) and the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA).
On June 30, 2005, the House passed H.R. 3058 , the FY2006 appropriations billfunding the Department of Transportation (and several other agencies). The House provided $63.5billion for the Department, $3.7 billion over FY2005's enacted level and $5.2 billion over theAdministration request. The bill increased funding (beyond the requested levels) for the FederalAviation Administration, the Federal Highway Administration, the Federal Transit Administration,and Amtrak. The House approved two amendments relating to Amtrak; one added $626 million tothe $550 million recommended by the House Committee on Appropriations, bringing Amtrak'sFY2006 funding to $1.2 billion; the other eliminated the prohibition on federal funding for routeswith a per-passenger subsidy of $30 or more proposed by the Appropriations Committee.
On October 20, 2005, the Senate passed its version of H.R. 3058 . The Senateprovided $64.2 billion for the Department of Transportation, $4.3 billion over FY2005 and $770million over the House-passed figure. The Senate bill provided more funding than the Houseapproved for highway programs and Amtrak, and less for aviation and transit programs. The Senatealso passed several provisions affecting Amtrak operations.
The conference version of H.R. 3058 was passed by Congress on November 18,2005; the President signed the bill into law on November 30, 2005 ( P.L. 109-115 ). The conferencebill provided $60.7 billion for the Department of Transportation, less than either the House or Senateversion, but $1.0 billion over FY2005 funding and $2.4 billion more than requested. On December30, 2005, the President signed the FY2006 Department of Defense appropriations bill ( P.L.109-148 ), which included a one percent across-the-board rescission of non-emergency federaldiscretionary funding for FY2006 and $2.8 billion in supplemental funding to DOT for response tothe consequences of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma. This report will not be updated.