Appropriations

Congressional republicans are leaving work on the table. The outgoing Republican majority appears to have decided to forego dealing with nine FY '07 appropriations measures including the Transportation Appropriations bill and instead pass a continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government operating until the Democrats take over in January, according to NSSGA. Only two appropriations bills (Defense and Homeland Security) out of 11 have been enacted into law. This negatively impacts the highway program, which under a CR would be funded at the FY '06 $36 billion level for the length of time the CR is in effect as opposed to the authorized amount of $39.1 billion for FY '07, contained in both the House and Senate versions of the FY '07 Transportation Appropriations bill. NSSGA is working with its coalition partners to gain an exception so that the higher amount could be appropriated for the highway program even under a CR. Your comment?