House committee's funding bill would ax TIGER program

The U.S. House of Representatives' Appropriations Committee on Monday released a transportation, housing and urban development funding bill that would eliminate the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant program.

Since 2009, Congress has dedicated nearly $4.6 billion for seven rounds of the TIGER program. In fiscal-year 2017, the program was funded at $500 million.

Although the committee's bill cuts support for TIGER, the proposal includes $17.8 billion in discretionary appropriations for the U.S. Department of Transportation in FY2018. That figure is about $1.5 billion higher than President Donald Trump's earlier request for the department.

The proposal also provides $2.2 billion for the Federal Railroad Administration, marking a $360 million increase over FY2017's enacted level. In addition, the bill provides $1.4 billion for Amtrak. Of that amount, $328 million is targeted for Northeast Corridor grants, while $1.1 billion would go toward supporting the national network.

The bill also prohibits funding for California's high-speed rail project, according to the press release issued by the Appropriations Committee.

The Federal Transit Administration would receive $11.75 billion for FY2018, marking a $662 million decrease compared with the previous fiscal year. Transit formula grants would total $9.7 billion, which is consistent at authorized levels.

Within that amount, $1.75 billion is included for the Capital Investment Grants program, while anther $1 billion is set aside for Full Funding Grant Agreement transit projects.

In total, the Appropriations Committee's FY2018 bill would allocate $56.4 billion in discretionary funding, which is $1.1 billion below the previous fiscal year.

The funds are targeted at "essential investments" in transportation infrastructure, as well as fundamental community development and housing programs, according to the release.