road construction

Road working crews are looking to the future for more work after the House passed transportation funding for 2023.  The legislation would provide $4.57 billion to the U.S. Department of Transportation.  Now the bill goes to the Senate for a vote.

The THUD funding bill includes almost 2,000 projects totaling $3.7 billion in earmarks. Of the transportation-related earmarks, highways would receive $1 billion, transit got $267 million, and airports got $173 million.

The legislation also fully funds Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) programs for highways and public transportation.

The total is $800 million more than what the USDOT received in 2022.

According to the House Committee on Appropriations, the 2023 bill:

  • Creates and sustains tens of thousands of good-paying American jobs by rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure with significant investments in airports, highways, transit, passenger rail, and port systems
  • Grows opportunity through homeownership and rental assistance, including more than 140,000 new housing vouchers targeted to individuals and families experiencing or at risk of homelessness and approximately 5,600 new units for seniors and persons with disabilities
  • Supports the vulnerable with public housing safety, maintenance, and improvement investments, such as the remediation of lead paint and radon and installation of energy and water efficient systems
  • Promotes safe transportation and housing with a skilled and growing workforce to conduct inspections, mitigate hazards, and study emerging threats and innovative solutions
  • Includes more than $2.6 billion to reduce emissions, increase resiliency, and address historical inequities in transportation and housing programs
  • Supports community projects identified by 331 Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle that increase the safety and viability of our airports, highways, and transit systems as well as strengthen our housing, businesses, and community infrastructure

The Senate has until September 30 to introduce its spending bills.