Yesterday, December 20, 2022, the United States Senate released their Fiscal Year 2023 omnibus spending bill. The bill would provide $1.7 trillion in funding through the end of Fiscal Year 2023, including record funding for highway programs. The Senate began consideration of the bill yesterday which could take several days to complete. The Highway Users are pleased with the record $72.4 billion in highway funding under the omnibus bill. First, the bill fully funds all FY 2023 highway elements in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), both from the Highway Trust Fund and the General Fund. That means roughly -- $ 58.8 billion in highway obligation limitation from the HTF, up $1.3 billion over FY 2022; $ .7 billion in exempt obligation authority from the HTF, the usual annual amount; and $ 9.5 billion in advance appropriations for FHWA programs from the General Fund. Second, the bill includes $3.4 billion for highways in addition to IIJA amounts, an increase of $1 billion over such amounts in FY 2022. That $3.4 billion includes $1.145 billion to fix structurally deficient bridges. Earlier in the year the House of Representatives and the Biden Administration proposed not providing that bridge funding and the Highway Users took a stand. As you may recall, in November, the Highway Users sent a letter to the Chair and Ranking Member of the House and Senate Transportation and Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Subcommittees, urging them to meet the funding levels set forth by the IIJA, and to add strong funding for highways, including for that bridge program. The Highway Users are very pleased that the negotiators chose to do that in this omnibus appropriations bill, resulting in record funding. Though this process has a way to go, the Highway Users applaud Congressional negotiators for recognizing the importance of meeting and exceeding the funding levels of the IIJA, and strongly supporting roads and bridges. The current continuing resolution is set to expire at 12:00 AM Saturday December 24. Should action on the omnibus slow down, it is possible that another short-term extension could be needed to maintain funding through the Christmas holiday before final Senate and House action on the omnibus. You may view the full omnibus spending bill by clicking here. If you have any questions regarding the omnibus funding bill, please feel free to contact me at any point at andrewstasiowski@highways.org.
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