Congress recently passed a fiscal year 2008 omnibus appropriations bill that President Bush is expected to sign. The bill combines 11 separate bills that fund most federal agencies through September 30. Estimates show that construction spending in the bill totals $107 billion, up 4% from fiscal year 2007 and up 5.7% from the president’s budget request.
Programs funded by the bill include the Federal Highway Administration’s obligation limitation with $2.1 billion, military construction with $9.9 billion, Base Realignment and Closing Commission with $7.5 billion, Airport Improvement Program at $3.5 billion, military family housing with $2.9 billion, Federal Aviation Administration facilities and equipment with $2.5 billion, and two U.S. Army Corps of Engineers accounts — construction general at $2.3 billion and operations and maintenance at $2.2 billion.