As construction industry officials wait to see whether Congress will agree to raise overall federal spending caps for fiscal 2020 and 2021, House Democratic appropriators are pushing to approve as many of the spending bills for fiscal year 2020 as they can by the July 4 break. Democrats, using relatively high guideline numbers, are laying down the first markers for eventual spending levels for construction and other programs for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1.
So far, House appropriators have rejected some of President Donald Trump’s proposed deep cuts in construction programs, notably a 31% reduction for Army Corps of Engineers civil works. In civil works and some other construction areas, appropriators have proposed increases over 2019. But they trimmed others. And it seems likely they will fall short of repeating the $10-billion-plus increase in overall infrastructure funds contained in the 2018 and 2019 appropriations.