President Donald Trump signed a $1.3 trillion spending bill Friday with $21.2 billion for new infrastructure spending on transportation, energy and water projects in fiscal year 2018.
The package, which won bipartisan approval in the House and Senate, keeps the federal government funded through Sept. 30.
The legislation was seen as one of the last chances for legislative proposals to win congressional approval before midterm election season heats up. One of the few successful additions was legislation increasing leverage limits for business development companies. Instead of the current 1-to-1 ratio, they now will be able to borrow $2 for every $1 of assets owned.
The Securities and Exchange Commission got additional funding to work on preventing cybercrime, but also was ordered to take steps to stop "overly burdensome regulation." The package also blocks the SEC from mandating that companies disclose political spending.
The $21.2 billion in new infrastructure funding in fiscal year 2018 will fall "across the board, whether it is transportation, energy, water or cyber," said House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-N.J. It is a $12.6 billion increase over fiscal-year 2017 requests.
The new funding includes $8.7 billion for highways, roads and bridges. The bill also provides $45 billion from the Highway Trust Fund to spend on federal highways, a $1 billion increase from fiscal 2017 levels. There is another $2.5 billion in discretionary highway funding and $1 billion for discretionary airport improvement grants targeting small and rural airports. Another $1 billion would go to the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery discretionary grant program for innovative projects, with at least 30% of funds going to rural communities. Rural broadband expansion projects gain $625 million, and $248 million is targeted at strengthening the security of electric grid.
Community development block grants to states and local communities for housing and development infrastructure are funded at $3.3 billion, an increase of $300 million. An affordable housing partnership program with private investors was funded at $1.4 billion, a $412 million increase over last year.
The rest of the earmarked infrastructure spending is on the House Appropriations Committee website.
