CR Averts Federal Shutdown

Congress has cleared a six-month continuing resolution (CR) to keep federal agencies, including construction programs, operating through Sept. 30, when fiscal 2013 ends.

The CR, which President Obama signed March 26, includes sequestration cuts, which affect many construction accounts. But the bill adds nearly $700 million to highway and transit programs, setting them at 2012 Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act levels.

The House and Senate also have passed budget resolutions for fiscal 2014 that differ greatly. The House version would cut outlays $4.6 trillion over 10 years, producing a $7-billion 2023 surplus. The Senate blueprint would cut $1.85 trillion over a decade, but leave a $566-billion deficit in 2023.

Tom Ichniowski has been writing about the federal government as ENR’s Washington Bureau Chief since the George H.W. Bush administration, and he has covered at least five major highway bills. A recognized expert on government policy on infrastructure and regulation, Tom is also a Baltimore native and Orioles fan who grew up rooting for Brooks and Frank Robinson. He is a graduate of Columbia College and Columbia’s graduate school of journalism, where he once used “unrelentless” in a headline.

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