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President Bush’s proposed fiscal-year 2008 budget, unveiled earlier this week, includes $1.4 billion for more than 30 current or proposed transit-rail and bus rapid-transit projects.

The proposed funding is part of the Federal Transit Administration’s annual New Starts report, which recommends $864 million for projects that already have been approved for Full Funding Grant Agreements (FFGA), $330 million for projects recommended to receive grants, $72 million for projects being considered for a federal grant and $52 million for “Small Starts,” a category created under SAFETEA-LU that would fund transit projects costing $250 million or less.

Projects with existing FFGAs that the FTA recommends should continue to receive federal funds in FY2008 include: Valley Metro’s Central Phoenix East Valley light-rail line; Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension; the Regional Transportation District of Denver’s (RTD) Southeast Corridor light-rail line; Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s Largo Metrorail extension; Chicago Transit Authority’s Ravenswood Line extension; New Jersey Transit’s Hudson-Bergen light-rail extension; MTA Long Island Rail Road’s East Side Access project; the Port Authority of Allegheny County’s Northshore Connector; Dallas Area Rapid Transit’s Northwest/Southeast light-rail line; Utah Transit Authority’s Weber County/Salt Lake City commuter-rail line; and Sound Transit’s Central Link light-rail line.

FFGAs are pending for Denver RTD’s West Corridor light-rail project and the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon’s South Corridor I-205/Portland Mall light-rail line.

The report proposes awarding FFGAs for MTA New York City Transit’s Second Avenue Subway project and Sound Transit’s University Link light-rail extension.

Meanwhile, projects still being considered for FFGAs include Northern Virginia’s Dulles Corridor Metrorail extension, Minnesota’s Northstar Corridor commuter-rail line and Hampton Roads Transit’s Norfolk Light Rail project.