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Yesterday, President Bush unveiled his $3.1 trillion fiscal-year 2009 spending plan, which includes $68 billion for transportation.

Administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation, the transportation budget proposes a record $10.1 billion for transit programs, but the amount falls short of the $10.3 billion guaranteed in FY2009 under SAFETEA-LU.

In addition, the Bush Administration proposes to use transit dollars to fund the federal highway account in 2009, which would reduce the balance in the federal Mass Transit Account to the point where, absent new funding, the federal transit program could not be funded in 2010, even at the current level, said American Public Transportation Association (APTA) President William Millar in a prepared statement.

“APTA is outraged that the Bush Administration’s budget request would cut $202.1 million for public transportation and proposes to transfer an estimated $3.2 billion dedicated for public transportation to fund highway projects,” he said.

The budget also proposes $800 million for Amtrak in FY2009, well below the railroad’s $1.3 billion FY2008 appropriation.

The amount “would be inadequate to operate the national passenger-rail system as it is currently configured,” says Amtrak spokeswoman Karina Romero. “Amtrak will be making its request to Congress later this month.”

However, at least one agency is pleased with the budget proposal. Sound Transit would receive $100 million for the University Link light-rail project. The agency plans to begin building the 3.2-mile underground extension from downtown Seattle to the University of Washington this year. Last year, Congress appropriated $19.6 million for the project. Sound Transit officials expect to obtain a $750 million Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA) for the project later this year; federal funds awarded prior to the grant approval would be deducted from the grant amount.

In addition, the budget would allocate $28.8 million to Sound Transit as part of the final FFGA installment for the Central Link light-rail line. Scheduled to open in 2009, the line will run between downtown Seattle and Sea-Tac International Airport.

Meanwhile, the Bush Administration has proposed $175 million for the Transit Security Grant Program as part of the FY2009 U.S. Department of Homeland Security budget. The figure is $225 million less than the $400 million Congress appropriated for the program in FY2008 and significantly lower than the $750 million authorized for transit security in the 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act of 2007 (H.R. 1), which Bush signed into law last August.

The DHS budget also did not include dollars to develop transit security standards or fund the Public Transit Information Sharing Analysis Center, both of which would “significantly enhance transit security for a minimal cost,” according to APTA.