A subcommittee reported out the transportation funding bill Wednesday and it was marked up by the full Appropriations Committee on Thursday. At full committee, the only modification was a manager's amendment that made minor changes to the bill.

The highway spending level in the Senate bill is $1.4 billion higher than that proposed by the House bill. The Senate version includes an obligation limitation of $41.107 billion for highways and bridges. It includes funding of $900 million from the General Fund to boost highway formula spending as well as $500 million from the General Fund to expand the TIFIA credit assistance program, which loans money to states for development of tollways and other transportation infrastructure. General Fund monies are also included to cover some $165 million in highway project earmarks.

Transit funding in the Senate bill would increase $600 million over the House level of $10.5 billion. That would include $8.343 billion for formula and bus grants, $2.307 billion for New Starts and Small Starts capital grants, $100 million to assist transit agencies in reducing greenhouse-gas emissions, and $150 million for the Washington Metrorail system. The House bill also contains the $150 million for the capital's Metrorail for the replacement of aging subway cars.

Funding for the Airport Improvement Grants program is continued at $3.5 billion in the Senate measure, the same level as provided by the House.

The Senate bill includes a new category of funding for "Significant Transportation Projects" at $1.1 billion. This money is apparently intended to support competitive grants for highways, bridges, public transportation, passenger and freight rail, and port infrastructure. The bill provides that no less than $250 million of that allocation be directed by the secretary of transportation to rural communities. This program appears to continue the competitive grant program of $1.5 billion that was included at the behest of Sen. Patty Murray, D-WA, chairwoman of the transportation subcommittee, in the economic recovery act passed in February.

Intercity and high-speed rail grants would be funded at $1.2 billion in the Senate version "to build on" the $8 billion provided by the recovery act. The House has proposed funding of $4 billion for such rail grants, with a provision that $2 billion would be transferred to start a national infrastructure bank should it be authorized by Congress. The Senate bill contains no funding for the proposed infrastructure bank. The Senate bill also provides a total of $1.55 billion in grants to Amtrak.

Funding for highway traffic safety grants is proposed by the Senate at the House level of $619.5 million. Federal motor carrier safety grants are proposed at $310 million for the next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.