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2016 federal appropriations bill increases funding for transportation, housing, and urban development

Posted on December 23, 2015 by Kira Hilbert

Some here below + more here >> http://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/2015/12/23/2016-federal-appropriations-bill-increases-funding-for-transportation-housing-and-urban-development/

 

Department of Housing and Urban Development
The bill includes a total of $38.3 billion for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development—$2.6 billion more than in fiscal year 2015 and $2.3 billion less than requested by the President.

• The Office of Public and Indian Housing, which is designed to help residents of affordable housing become more self-sufficient and economic independent, is funded at $26.9 billion, $447 million more than in fiscal year 2015, and $1.87 billion less than the President’s request.
• Housing programs to help ensure assistance is provided to the nation’s most vulnerable citizens, are funded at $11.3 billion, $930 million more than in fiscal year 2015, and $202 million below the President’s request. This includes $11 billion is to fund project-based rental assistance, $433 million for Housing for the Elderly, $151 million for Housing for Persons with Disabilities, $60 million for the Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) program to help end veterans’ homelessness, $30 million for the Rental Housing Assistance program, and $47 million for the Housing Counseling Assistance Program.
• Community Planning and Development programs are funded at $6.65 billion, $173 million more than in fiscal 2015. Within this amount, the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, a flexible funding program that provides communities with resources to address a wide range of development needs, is funded at $3 billion, the same as the 2015 enacted level.
• The HOME Investment Partnerships Program, which provides block grants to states and localities to expand affordable housing, is funded at $950 million, $50 million more than fiscal year 2015.
• Choice Neighborhoods, which provides support for struggling neighborhoods and aid for community revitalization, is funded at $125 million.
• The bill prevents HUD from funding any new livable, sustainable or green program in HUD’s Community Development programs. Since the Office of Economic Resilience (OER) or the Resilience fund are old programs, this policy statement does not impact them.

Department of Transportation
The bill includes a total of $18.7 billion in fiscal year 2016 discretionary appropriations for the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) — $847 million more than in fiscal year 2015, and $5.4 billion below the President’s request. It also provides USDOT with $56.4 billion in “obligation limitation” funding for surface transportation and safety programs.

• The Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grants program, which funds competitive grants for state and local road, transit, port, and railroad construction projects, is funded at $500 million. This is the same as fiscal year 2015 and $750 million less than requested by the president. Funds in the bill would be available until September 30, 2019, and would cover projects including but not limited to highway, bridge, public transportation, passenger and freight rail, and port projects.
• The Federal Railroad Administration is funded at $1.7 billion, $52 million more than in fiscal year 2015. Within this amount, Amtrak grant funding is maintained at $1.4 billion.
• The Federal Transit Administration is funded at $11.8 billion, $870 million more than in fiscal year 2015. This includes $9.3 billion in state and local transit grant funding from the Mass Transit Account of the Highway Trust Fund, to help local communities build, maintain, and ensure the safety of their mass transit systems. It also includes $2.18 billion for FTA’s Capital Investment Grants, such as the New Starts, Small Starts, and Core Capacity Improvements grant programs responsible for funding major transit capital investments, including rapid rail, light rail, bus rapid transit, commuter rail, and ferries.