Senate Appropriations Committee Marks Up FY15 THUD Bill

Yesterday, the Senate FY15 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) appropriations bill passed by the Senate Appropriations Committee by a 29-1 vote. The bill proposes funding levels for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Department of Transportation (DOT) and other related agencies for fiscal year 2015.

This comes on the heels of the House Appropriations Committee passing their version last month. Overall, the Senate bill would provide $54.4 billion in discretionary budget authority for THUD agencies, as opposed to the $52 billion from the House bill. Despite the funding differences between the two bills, the final funding decisions will likely be determined in an omnibus appropriations package later this year.

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Appropriations Subcommittee Marks Up FY 2015 T-HUD Bill

Yesterday, the House FY 2015 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (T-HUD) appropriations bill was considered in subcommittee where it was approved by a voice vote. The bill proposes funding levels for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Department of Transportation (DOT) and other related agencies.

Overall, the bill allocates $52 billion in discretionary spending and represents cuts of $1.8 billion from current program funding levels to compensate for lower than expected Federal Housing Administration receipts. The breakdown, by agency, of proposed funding for relevant programs is as follows:

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Webinar: Federal Transit Administration 2011 Funding Opportunities

The FTA Office of Program Management is holding a webinar tomorrow, Friday, July 8, 2011 on how to find and apply for 2011 funding opportunities, including the Bus Livability program. Other programs that will be discussed include Alternative Analysis, State of Good Repair, Clean Fuels, and Transit Investments for Greenhouse Gas and Energy Reduction (TIGGER).

The webinar will be held in two sessions:

East Coast participants (FTA Regions 1-5) can register here for a 10:30 – 12:00pm ET webinar.
West Coast participants (FTA Regions 6-10) can register here for a 1:00 – 2:30pm ET webinar.

Registration details will be sent to registrants. Find more information here.

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FTA announces funding available through Bus Livability Program

The Federal Transit Administration has announced up to $150 million of funding available through the Bus Livability Program, which provides money to purchase or replace buses and to build bus-related facilities. The grants are part of the Partnership for Sustainable Communies’ livability funding. From www.grants.gov:

The Bus Livability Program makes funds available to public transportation providers to finance capital projects to replace, rehabilitate, and purchase buses and related equipment and to construct bus-related facilities, including programs of bus and bus-related projects for assistance to subrecipients that are public agencies, private companies engaged in public transportation, or private non-profit organizations.

The Bus Livability Program will be funded using at least $150 million in available discretionary Bus and Bus Facilities Program funds, authorized by 49 U.S.C. 5309(b) of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient, Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), Pub. L. 109-59, August 10, 2005. FTA may use additional Bus and Bus Facilities funding that becomes available to further support this initiative. The Notice in FR DOC # 2011-16015 includes priorities established by FTA for these discretionary funds, the criteria FTA will use to identify meritorious projects for funding, and describes how to apply.

Places where people have access to affordable housing and different forms of transportation are communities that are economically competitive, and the places where businesses thrive and people want to live. FTA’s livability grants will go a long way toward helping create those communities through jobs, lower transportation costs, and economic development.

For more information about this funding opportunity visit www.grants.gov or www.federalregister.gov.

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