Senate Hearing on 2019 Transportation Budget Proposal

• •The Administration requested $76.8 billion for the Department of Transportation for fiscal year 2019, down from $87.1 billion in 2018.
• •The budget proposes a $122 billion reduction in highway and transit formula programs over 10 years.
• •The proposed Incentives Grant Program would reduce the federal cost-share for highway projects from 80% to 20%.
• •The budget proposes eliminating the TIGER Competitive Grant Program.
• •The budget proposes reducing funding for the Essential Air Service Program and Amtrak's Long Distance Routes.
• •The budget proposes eliminating the Transit New Starts Project.
• •The budget proposes reducing funding for the Maritime Security Program.
• •The budget includes funding for a new Training Vessel Program and initiatives to address sexual assault at the Maritime Academy.
• •The budget includes a proposal to privatize the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
• •The Highway Trust Fund faces ongoing insolvency, with $140 billion in general fund transfers required since 2008 to maintain operations.

The hearing outlines potential federal funding shifts for national infrastructure projects, including proposed changes to cost-sharing for highway construction and the potential elimination of specific grant programs that support local roads, bridges, and rural air services.

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.