In its Fiscal Year 2018 budget plan, the administration proposed an unprecedented $54 billion in cuts to federal funding for domestic programs important to cities and towns. Since then, members of the House Appropriations Committee have met to debate funding levels to agencies and specific programs, with some important changes.

As of Monday, July 17, the Committee has finished work on half of the twelve appropriations bills needed to fully fund the federal government. We are very please that  funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative was fully restored. The Committee trimmed CDBG funding by $100 million, down to $2.9 billion, which is a drastic reversal from the complete elimination the administration suggested. Other areas of concern still remain though as TIGER grants continue to face complete elimination.

Through our ongoing partnership with the Nation League of Cites they have put together a Federal Budget Tracker for FY18 that takes a detailed look at some of the most important federal programs to cities, and the current state of play for their funding.To learn more on each spending bill please click Federal Budget FY18 Budget Tracker.

John LaMacchia is the Assistant Director of State and Federal Affairs for the League handling transportation, infrastructure, energy and environment issues. He can be reached at [email protected] or 517-908-0303.