Last week,
Congress passed a compromise-spending bill to fund the U.S. Department of
Transportation (USDOT) and several other departments through the end of the
current fiscal year in September 2012. The conference agreement between the two
chambers preserves funding for transit and the innovative TIGER grants program,
while zeroing out high-speed rail. The Federal Transit Administration is
provided a total of $10.608 billion. Amtrak, with $466 million for operating
and $952 million for capital, would be funded at a level lower than what the Senate
requested but higher than the House-proposed amount. Read more about
transportation funding at Transportation for America.
Unfortunately,
the final package did not include funding for Partnership for Sustainable
Communities grants at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
The Partnership for Sustainable Communities is a joint venture between USDOT,
HUD and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
In an effort to
combat the bureaucratic confusion that has long characterized federal urban
policy, the Obama administration launched the Sustainable Communities
Partnership in June 2009. The aim of the effort is to break down “silos” of
decision-making, where government agencies pursue individual mandates without
coordination, potentially undermining or even contradicting the priorities and
regulations of one another. The
partnership, a collaborative effort among the Department of Transportation, the
Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Environmental Protection
Agency, aims to coordinate federal urban policy around six “Livability
Principles,” including providing transportation choices, promoting affordable
housing and supporting existing communities.
While no new
grants will be awarded under this agreement, HUD's Office of Sustainable
Housing and Communities will remain open. Negotiators in Congress notably
refused to include House-proposed language that would have disallowed the three
departments from working collaboratively.
To find out more visit: www.smartgrowthamerica.org
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