Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD): FY2017 Appropriations

Summary

The House and Senate Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) Appropriations Subcommittees are charged with providing annual appropriations for the Department of Transportation (DOT), Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and related agencies. THUD programs receive both discretionary and mandatory budget authority; HUD’s budget generally accounts for the largest share of discretionary appropriations in the THUD bill, but when mandatory funding is taken into account, DOT’s budget is larger than HUD’s budget. Mandatory funding typically accounts for around half of the THUD appropriation.

The Administration requested net budget authority of $134.5 billion (after scorekeeping adjustments) for the agencies funded by the THUD bill for FY2017, an increase of $20.6 billion (18%) over FY2016. Most of this increase was for highway, transit, and passenger rail programs in DOT. Customarily, appropriations bills originate in the House of Representatives, but the House has not been able to pass a budget, delaying the consideration of appropriations bills. The Senate Committee on Appropriations has begun the appropriations process. For the THUD bill (Senate-reported S. 2844, now Division A of H.R. 2577), the committee recommended $114.2 billion in net budget authority ($121.2 billion in new budget authority before scorekeeping adjustments), an increase of $244 million (less than 1%) over FY2016.

On May 12, 2016, the full Senate began consideration of FY2017 appropriations for THUD as part of a substitute amendment to H.R. 2577 that incorporates both the Senate-reported THUD bill (S. 2844) and the Senate-reported Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies bill.

DOT: The Administration requested a $96.9 billion budget for DOT for FY2017. That is about $22 billion more than was provided for FY2016. The budget request called for significant increases in funding for highway, transit, and rail programs. The Senate Committee on Appropriations largely rejected the proposed increases and recommended $76.9 billion in new budget authority for DOT, $1.8 billion more than the comparable figure in FY2016. After a $2.2 billion rescission of unused contract authority from previous years, the committee’s net FY2017 appropriation for DOT is $344 million less than the FY2016 level. The major changes from FY2016 levels in the Senate-reported bill are $905 million more for the federal highway program, $575 million more for the federal transit program, and $85 million for new federal grant programs for intercity passenger rail.

HUD: The President requested $39.6 billion in net new budget authority for HUD for FY2017, $1.3 billion more than provided in FY2016 ($38.3 billion, excluding $300 million in disaster funding). The Senate-reported bill recommends $39.2 billion in net new budget authority, representing $1.5 billion more in appropriations for HUD’s programs and activities than was provided in FY2016 and $600 million more in savings from offsets. More than three-quarters of the increase in appropriations is attributable to funding increases to largely maintain current services in HUD’s primary rental assistance programs, the project-based Section 8 rental assistance program and Housing Choice Voucher program.

Related Agencies: The Administration requested a total of $350 million for the agencies in Title III (the Related Agencies). This was about $33 million less than the comparable figure for FY2016, as the Administration request included funding for an agency that was not in the Related Agencies title in FY2016, the Surface Transportation Board. The major change in funding from FY2016 levels in the request was a cut of $35 million (20%) for the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation (NRC). The Senate-reported bill recommended $339 million, cutting another $5 million from the NRC.