Over Half of Budget Cuts Derived From Federal Construction Programs
After several long weeks of negotiations, the White House and House Republicans announced in the late hours of April 8 that they have agreed on a $1.208 trillion spending package for the remainder of FY 2011. The package represents nearly $40 billion dollar cut in non-defense discretionary spending for the remainder of FY 2011.Â
The House passed the bill Thursday with a vote of 260-167, and the Senate is expected to pass the measure later Thursday as well, in time for the president to sign it by midnight on Friday when the continuing resolution expires. In order to get the deal passed through regular order, Congress passed a short-term budget deal that keeps the federal government funded through the rest of the week.
Similar to the cuts provided in H.R. 1 (the original continuing resolution for FY 2011 that passed the House) this latest package appears to have a severe impact on federal construction accounts. Based on a list of provided by the House Appropriations Committee, 51·çÁ÷ has determined that funding for federal construction accounts will be cut by $21.9 billion. Among the biggest cuts are:
- Department of Defense Military Construction - $6,237 B
- Federal Highway Administration Contract Authority - $2,500 B
- High Speed Rail - $2,900 B
- Clean and Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Funds - $997 M
- GSA Construction – $638 M