Rules Committee Allows 42 Amendments to FY20 DOT Budget

June 19, 2019 – 9:00 a.m.

At about 1 a.m. this morning, the House Rules Committee filed the first special rule making in order the second “minibus” package of appropriations bills (H.R. 3055) for consideration on the House floor later this week. The rule makes in order 290 amendments to the legislation, and of those, 42 pertain to the transportation budget.

In some respects, the list of amendments that will be allowed to be offered in the House (see below) is not as interesting as the amendments which were disallowed. The House will not get to vote on amendments striking the trucking policy riders in sections 133, 134 and 135 of the bill. The House will not get to vote on the California high-speed rail amendments (two were filed with Rules, one striking section 192 of the bill and the other forcing California to finally pay for the land it has seized for construction). The House will not get to vote on the amendment striking section 145, which prevents the Trump Administration from finalizing its rule freezing CAFE fuel economy standards. And the House will not get to vote on Ms. Norton’s amendment to suspend federal grants to WMATA if they buy their new rail cars from a Chinese-owned manufacturer.

The House still has to finish up work on the first minibus package (H.R. 2740) today, and then will move on to begin debate on H.R. 3055. Under the terms of the rule, the House will have to slog through 228 amendments to the first four divisions of the bill before they start offering amendments to Division E, the Transportation-HUD bill, so the DOT amendment debate might not happen until next week.

The text of the summary version of the rule with the full amendment list is here, the report to accompany the rule is here (which has all the amendment text in one PDF), and the text of the five-bill minibus with the proper page and line numbers is here.

Transportation-Related Amendments Made in Order to Division E of the Second FY 2020 Minibus by H. Res. 445.

Each of the amendments below bears two numbers – the first, before the sponsor name, is the order in which they appear in the rule, which is also the order in which they can be offered on the House floor. The second number, after the sponsor name, is the order in which the amendments were filed with the Rules Committee. All page and line numbers in amendments refer to this version of the legislation. Clicking on the sponsor name takes you to the amendment text.

229. Woodall (GA) #121 – strikes section 193 of the bill, which currently amends 23 U.S.C. §603(b) to state that the proceeds of a secured loan under the TIFIA program shall be considered to be part of the non-Federal share of project costs required under this title or chapter 53 of title 49, if the loan is repayable from non-Federal funds.

230. DeSaulnier (CA) #46REVISED – decreases the appropriation for Office of the Secretary – Research and Technology by $2 million and then immediately restores the cut, which the amendment sponsor says is to support a study on the impacts climate change has already had and will continue to have on all modes of transportation.

231. Burgess (TX) #47 – reduces the appropriation for the discretionary portion of Essential Air Service subsidies by $50 million, from the $175 million in the bill to the $125 million requested by the Administration.

233. DeFazio (OR) #9REVISED – adds a new section preventing DOT, during FY 2020, from carrying out section 4(b) of Executive Order 13868 or to issue a special permit under 49 CFR 107.105 that allows liquified natural gas to move by rail tank car.

236. Norton (DC) #110 – reduces the appropriation for FAA Operations by one dollar and then instantly restores the cut, which the amendment sponsor says is to urge the FAA to prioritize efforts to combat airplane and helicopter noise.

237. Perry (PA) #51 – strikes section 164 of the bill, which currently does four things: (a) suspends the Rostenkowski Test funding reduction of Mass Transit Account funding, (b) prevents FTA from requiring any CIG project from having a CIG contribution below 50 percent, (c) prevents FTA from determining a maximum CIG share of a project until it has been in Engineering for at least 100 days, and (d) prevents FTA from requiring a CIG project have a greater than 50 percent likelihood of being completed within its cost estimate.

239. Meadows (NC) #109 – increases the set-aside in Office of the Secretary – Salaries and Expenses for the Office of the Deputy Secretary by $1 million and then immediately cancels the increase, which the amendment sponsor says is to study economic authority certification to facilitate the operation of U.S.-based unmanned aircraft manufacturers and operators who receive venture capital and who carry cargo within U.S. airspace.

240. Doggett (TX) #57 – within the FAA Operations account, the amendment transfers $7.5 million from the Finance and Management Activities PPA to the Aviation Safety PPA.

242. Jackson Lee (TX) #103REVISED – decreases the appropriation for BUILD grants by $2 million and then immediately restores the reduction.

245. Langevin (RI) #31 – reduces the appropriation for Office of the Secretary – Research and Technology by $800 thousand and increases the independent Access Board appropriation in title III of the bill by the same amount, which the amendment sponsor says is to fund the study of in-cabin wheelchair restraint systems as described in the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018.

247. Lipinski (IL) #38 – REVISED – increases the bill’s appropriation for the FRA CRISI grant program by $1 million and then instantly cancels the increase, which the amendment sponsor says is to instruct FRA to include preventive maintenance as an eligible capital expense for grants awarded to projects deploying Positive Train Control (PTC).

249. Bost (IL) #113 – adds a new section prohibiting any DOT or HUD funds provided by the bill from being used in contravention of Executive Order 13858 (President Trump’s January 2010 order strengthening Buy America preferences). 

250. Foster (IL) #33 – reduces the appropriation for BUILD grants by one dollar, then instantly restores the cut, which the amendment sponsor says is to “highlight the disparity between State apportionments.”

252. Keating (MA) #88 – REVISED – reduces the appropriation for Office of the Secretary – Salaries and Expenses by $5 million and then immediately restores the reduction, which the amendment sponsor says is to demonstrate support for the design of projects to replace federally owned bridge infrastructure that is designated as an evacuation route.

254. Sewell (AL) #99 – REVISED – increases the appropriation for Office of the Secretary – Salaries and Expenses by one dollar and then immediately cancels the increase, which the amendment sponsor says is to instruct the Department to prioritize funding and resources for the modernization and expansion of non-emergency medical transportation programs.

255. Burchett (TN) #14 – REVISED –increases the general fund appropriation for federal-aid highways by $12 million (all of which goes to the set-aside for STBGP, hazard elimination, grade crossings and charging/EV infrastructure) and reduces the appropriation for Office of the Secretary – Salaries and Expenses by the same amount.

256. Bera (CA) #41 – REVISED – increases the bill’s general fund appropriation for low-no emission bus funding (part of the overall GF transit formula grant supplement) by $2 million (increasing the low-no set-aside from $94 million to $96 million, and thus the overall appropriation from $750 million to $752 million), offset by a $2 million cut in Office of the Secretary – Salaries and Expenses.

257. Spano (FL) #96 – REVISED – within the FAA Operations appropriation, increases the Commercial Space Transportation PPA by $8.1 million, offset with an $8.1 million cut in the Finance and Management Activities PPA.

259. Takano (CA) #29 – adds a new section preventing any FY 2020 funding in the bill from being used by Amtrak in contravention of the Worker Adjustment and4 Retraining Notification Act.

260. Adams (NC) #100 – REVISED –increases the appropriation for FAA Facilities and Equipment by $2 million, with a corresponding reduction in the appropriation for Office of the Secretary – Research and Technology, which the amendment sponsor says is for increasing availability of funds for replacing Terminal Air Traffic Control Facilities

264. Maloney (NY) #107 – decreases the appropriation for Office of the Secretary – Transportation Planning, Research and Development by $1 million and then immediately restores the reduction, which the amendment sponsor says is to encourage DOT to research implementing connected vehicle and autonomous vehicle technologies at Highway-Rail Grade Crossings.

265. Rice (NY) #24 – increases the appropriation for FAA Research, Engineering and Development and then immediately cancels the increase, which the amendment sponsor says is to support the research and development of aircraft technologies that reduce aviation noise.

266. Plaskett (VI) #87 – REVISED – in the bill, both the BUILD grant program and the Transit Infrastructure Grant appropriation have set-asides for “areas of persistent poverty,” and this amendment clarifies that areas in U.S. territories and possessions are eligible for such funding.

267. Krishnamoorthi (IL) #32 – prevents any funding in the bill from being used in contravention of 5 CFR 2635.702, which prohibits the use of public office for private gain.

269. Jayapal (WA) #82 – REVISED – reduces the obligation limitation on the Airport Improvement Program by $2 million and then immediately restores the cut, which the amendment sponsor says is intended to demonstrate support for the need for additional funds toward airplane noise mitigation for communities.

270. Jayapal (WA) #83 – increases the appropriation for the USDOT Inspector General by $1 million, offset by a $1 million reduction in the appropriation for Office of the Secretary – Salaries and Expenses, which the amendment sponsor says is to support the FAA safety certification process audit. (Legislative text is identical to Malinowski #286, below.)

272. Carbajal (CA) #106 – increases funding for the resiliency study in section 105 of the bill by $500 thousand and then immediately cancels the increase.

273. Wexton (VA) #1 – REVISED –increases funding for FAA Facilities and Equipment by $7 million and then immediately cancels that increase, which the amendment sponsor says is to to continue the Remote Tower Pilot Program.

274. Garcia (IL) #2 – REVISEDwithin the FTA Technical Assistance and Training appropriation, increases the set-aside for the frontline workforce development study by $1 million and then immediately cancels that increase, which the amendment sponsor says is to urge FTA to prioritize programs for front line bus and rail transit workers.

277. Schrier (WA) #19 – reduces the appropriation for NHTSA Operations and Research by $1 million and then immediately restores the funding, which the amendment sponsor says is to support state efforts aimed at reducing distracted driving, properly securing vehicle loads, and other highways safety programs.

278. Escobar (TX) #22 – REVISED – increases the Airport Improvement Program set-aside for Small Community Air Service Development by $5 million and then immediately cancels the increase.

279. Escobar (TX) #23 – REVISED – increases the BUILD grant set-aside for planning grants in areas of persistent poverty by $5 million and then immediately cancels the increase.

280. Porter (CA) #30 – REVISED – increases the appropriation of general fund highway money and the set-aside for STBGP and other formula items by $10 million and reduces Office of the Secretary – Salaries and Expenses by the same amount. The amendment sponsor says this is for additional EV and hydrogen fuel charging station infrastructure.

281. Phillips (MN) #42 – decreases the appropriation for FTA Capital Investment Grants by $1 million and then immediately restores the funding, which the amendment sponsor says is to “invest in critical transit projects.”

282. Garcia (IL) #59 – REVISED – within the BUILD grant appropriation, increases the minimum set-aside for planning grants for transit, transit-oriented development and multimodal projects from $15 million to $20 million.

283. Malinowski (NJ) #72 – provides that no funding in the bill can be used in contravention of 49 U.S.C. §5309(d)(2), regarding advancement of Capital Investment Grant projects from the project development phase to the engineering phase.

284. Malinowski (NJ) #73 REVISED –within the bill’s $750 million appropriation for Transit Infrastructure Grants, increases the set-aside for low-emission and no-emission buses by $6 million and offsets the funding by a $6 million reductions in both the competitive bus grant program set-aside.

285. Malinowski (NJ) #74 – reduces the PHMSA Pipeline Safety appropriation by $1 million and then immediately restores the cut, which the amendment sponsor says is to enhance PHMSA’s Community Liaison Services’ ability to respond to pipeline-related inquiries from community members.

286. Malinowski (NJ) #75 – increases the appropriation for the USDOT Inspector General by $1 million, offset by a $1 million reduction in the appropriation for Office of the Secretary – Salaries and Expenses. (Legislative text is identical to Jayapal #270, above.)

287. Craig (MN) #94 – increases the appropriation for FAA Research, Engineering and Development by $1.5 million and then immediately cancels the increase, which the amendment sponsor says is o address the concerns of communities affected by aircraft noise to urge the FAA to respond fully and completely to the requirements in the FAA Reauthorization Act pertaining to noise reduction.

289. Pressley (MA) #105 –decreases the appropriation for BUILD grants by $1 million and then immediately restores the reduction, which the amendment sponsor says is to reinforce the importance of robust investments in safe, reliant and efficient transit options including commuter rails, subway, buses, bike and pedestrian paths.

290. Finkenauer (IA) #112 – increases the appropriation for the National Surface Transportation and Innovative Finance Bureau by $1 million, with a corresponding cut in Office of the Secretary – Salaries and Expenses, which the amendment sponsor says it to ensure rural communities can get technical assistance when seeking federal transportation infrastructure financing opportunities.

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