On March 10th, Congress passed the 2,741 page, fiscal year 2022 omnibus appropriations bill with approximately $1.5 trillion in funding including over $100 billion in transportation resources.
H.R. 2471 releases funds to run the government for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2022, that is, till September 30th, 2022.
The government has been funded since October under a series of stopgap spending extensions, highway and transit formula programs have had to operate under fiscal 2021 levels and only at a pro-rated sum for the length of the stopgaps.
Appropriations Committee leaders say they have already begun writing the next omnibus appropriations bill, for Fiscal Year 2023, which must be passed by September 30th of this year.
The omnibus will finally fully fund the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, specifically programs funded by the Highway Trust Fund for 2022.
TIA is enthusiastic about this news.
The omnibus includes obligation limitations that are consistent with the levels established by the IIJA and will allow for utilization of the fiscal year 2022 contract authority; this includes $58.2 billion for the Federal Highway Administration, provided under the legislation.
TIA is pleased that the over 20% increase in highway funding for fiscal year 2022 will finally come to pass especially in light of construction season just beginning.
The omnibus also ends the “no new starts” provision under the continuing resolution which prevented implementing new policies and programs under the IIJA.
The omnibus also includes some additional highway funding for FY 2022 from the General Fund, over and above the IIJA levels.
TIA will continue this year’s fight by working to enact, by September 30th, the Employee Retention Tax Credit for the last calendar quarter of 2022 and first half of 2023; the enhanced Work Opportunity Tax Credit for fiscal years 2023 and 2024; and new WOTC target groups and other improvements we set forth when the 117th Congress began last year.
Should the White House propose a bill to enact, for example, climate change, energy programs, and the now-expired refundable Child Credit, we’ll work to include our own set of policy goals in such bill if it engenders support.
Similarly, if an American Competitiveness Act or supplemental appropriations bill are introduced, we’ll look to include our goals in these measures if opportunity allows.
The omnibus bill allows all $58.2 billion in IIJA contract authority for the Federal Highway Administration to be used in 2022 – it provides an obligation limitation of $57.5 billion, and an additional $739 million is available outside of the control of the annual appropriations process. In addition, the bill appropriates $2.8 billion from the general fund, and this is added to the $9.5 billion in advance general fund appropriations from the IIJA. In total, FHWA gets $70.5 billion in 2022, a 44 percent increase over 2021.
The $1.1 billion for a formula-based bridge program is in addition to the $5.5 billion provided by the IIJA in 2022 for a different formula-based bridge program. The IIJA money (which has already been distributed to states) used a formula based on the estimated cost to bring each state’s sub-optimal bridges up to snuff – the formula was 75 percent the state’s share of cost to replace poor-condition bridges, and 25 percent the state’s share of the cost to rehabilitate all fair-condition bridges. The program had a $45 million per year state minimum.
The program funded by the omnibus instead uses deck area of bridges (not cost) as its formula and refers only to poor-condition bridges (not fair-condition). First, the $1.1 billion is distributed to “qualifying states” that have at least 5 percent of their total bridge deck area in poor condition, and has a $6 million state minimum and a $40 million qualifying state maximum, and then any leftover goes to the non-qualifying states.
The omnibus bill also provides $250 million for additional competitive resilience grants under the new PROTECT program (in addition to the $250 million provided by IIJA for those competitive grants). $200 million is for resilience improvement grants and the other $50 million is for at-risk coastal infrastructure grants.
United States District Judge Douglas Woodlock issued a notice on March 8th, informing of a delay to provide a decision on the Massachusetts Right to Repair court case due to “unforeseen and unforeseeable circumstances, principally involving supervening but insistent writing responsibilities in other matters.”
While the decision was scheduled for March 7, 2022, the judge has now stated that he would issue a final judgement no later than April 15, 2022.
Approved by Massachusetts voters on November 3, 2020 by an overwhelming 75-25 percent margin, the new Right to Repair law would require manufacturers to provide vehicle owners both access and control of the diagnostic and repair data generated by their vehicles.
Subsequent to the vote, the car company trade group, Alliance for Automotive Innovation filed a lawsuit in November 2020 asking the court to overturn the data access ballot question based on a host of allegations including cyber security concerns, insufficient time to comply with the new data access requirements and their contention that the ballot initiative is preempted by federal law.
Right to Repair remains a top priority for TIA.
TIA has made it a priority to work with Congress on a timetable for reopening Capitol Hill. The country has opened. COVID-19 cases continue to decline. The CDC has loosened recommendations on masks. It’s time for Capitol Hill to follow. TIA members deserve to visit Capitol Hill and meet with their members of Congress. Reopening Capitol Hill will allow for TIA to once again have Lobby Days for our members in Washington.
TIA signed onto the following letter:
Dear Speaker Pelosi, Leaders Schumer, McCarthy and McConnell:
Members of our profession understand the challenges that Congress has faced and we have been sympathetic to its health, safety, and security concerns over these last two years. Even though the Centers for Disease Control has issued new guidance on masking and infections are down across the National Capital Region, there are still the security concerns about the Capitol and congressional office buildings. We have developed a proposal that could enable Congress to re-open for public visits, which would help ensure that people remain healthy and safe.
The country has reopened, and businesses have employees back in the office. Kids are back in the classroom. Sporting and concert venues have opened for live events. And, with restaurants trying to make a comeback, we would urge Congress to do the same and reopen to the people without appointments starting July 11, 2022. What better message to send to the public that we are turning the corner on two years of very difficult and challenging times for this country than by announcing that Capitol Hill is again open to the public?
We would like to begin an immediate dialogue with you to discuss reopening Congressional office buildings in a way that is safe for all with security measures already being used in many state legislatures. On behalf of the profession and those listed below, we thank you and look forward to working with you on ensuring a healthy and safe reopening.
Respectfully,
Tire Industry Association and other trade organizations