Contents

• About the THUD Bill
• Overview of the FY2026 Appropriations Process
• President's Budget
• House Committee Action
• Senate Committee Action
• Title I: Department of Transportation
• Additional Funding for FY2023 Provided in the IIJA
• Selected FY2026 DOT Appropriations Topics
• Funding by Agency
• IIJA Transfers
• "Earmarks"
• Selected Proposed Administrative Provisions of the House and Senate
• Title II: Department of Housing and Urban Development
• Overview
• Selected FY2026 HUD Appropriations Topics
• Rental Assistance
• Homeless Assistance
• Native American Programs
• Elimination of Grant Programs
• "Earmarks"
• Select General Provisions
• Title III: Related Agencies
• U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness

Summary

The House and the Senate Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) Appropriations Subcommittees are charged with providing annual appropriations for the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and certain related agencies.

The annual appropriations process generally begins with the release of the President's budget, which is due in February. The second Trump Administration's FY2026 budget release was delayed due to the presidential transition and other factors. A "skinny" budget was released in early May, with more details—including Congressional Budget Justifications—released later. For the agencies that comprise the THUD budget, it proposes the following:

• For DOT, $26.7 billion in net new discretionary funding (+5.6% relative to FY2025 enacted). When paired with $83.3 billion in mandatory funding, total DOT funding in the THUD bill would be $109.9 billion in FY2026 (+3% relative to FY2025 enacted).
• For HUD, $36.6 billion in net new discretionary funding (-46.8% relative to FY2025 enacted, including emergency-designated funding for regular program operations).
• For the related agencies typically funded in the THUD bill, $293 million (-32.3% relative to FY2025 enacted).

On July 17, the House Appropriations Committee marked up and ordered reported its FY2026 THUD appropriations bill (H.R. 4552; H.Rept. 119-212), following subcommittee markup on July 14. It includes the following:

• For DOT, $21.8 billion in new discretionary funding (-13.7% relative to FY2025 enacted). When paired with $83.3 billion in mandatory funding, total DOT funding in the THUD bill would be $105.1 billion in FY2026 (-1.6% relative to FY2025 enacted).
• For HUD, $67.8 billion in net new discretionary funding (+11.6% relative to FY2025 enacted, including emergency-designated funding for regular program operations).
• For the related agencies typically funded in the THUD bill, $366 million (-15.5% relative to FY2025 enacted).

Forgoing initial subcommittee markup, the Senate Appropriations Committee marked up and ordered reported its FY2026 THUD appropriations bill (S. 2465; S.Rept. 119-47) on July 24. It includes the following:

• For DOT, $26.5 billion in new discretionary funding (+5.1% relative to FY2025 enacted). When paired with $83.3 billion in mandatory funding, total DOT funding in the THUD bill would be $109.8 billion in FY2026 (+2.8% relative to FY2025 enacted).
• For HUD, $73.3 billion in net new discretionary funding (+20.7% relative to FY2025 enacted, including emergency-designated funding for regular program operations).
• For the related agencies typically funded in the THUD bill, $424 million (-2.1% relative to FY2025 enacted).

The House and the Senate Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) Appropriations Subcommittees are charged with providing annual appropriations for the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and certain related agencies.

This report describes action on FY2026 annual appropriations for THUD, including detailed tables for each major agency and a brief overview of selected issues.

About the THUD Bill

The THUD bill funds two federal departments—DOT and HUD—and several smaller related agencies. Of the 12 regular appropriations bills, THUD is typically the fourth largest in terms of discretionary funding and it typically contains the largest number of Community Project Funding/Congressionally Directed Spending projects (earmarks).¹

As shown in Table 1 and Figure 1, the distribution of funding within the THUD bill differs depending on the inclusion or exclusion of mandatory funding associated with the bill. Including both mandatory and discretionary funding, DOT's budget is nearly twice that of HUD's and the related agencies make up a small share of total funding. Conversely, when looking only at net discretionary budget authority—the funding that counts for congressional scorekeeping purposes, which accounts for savings from offsets and rescissions but excludes mandatory funding—HUD's share is larger than DOT's share.

Figure 1. Distribution of THUD Funding by Title FY2025 Enacted

Source: Comparative Statement of New Budget (Obligational) Authority table, as published in H.Rept. 118-584. Notes: Discretionary funding reflects net discretionary funding. Excludes emergency funding, except emergency funding provided for regular program operations.

Overview of the FY2026 Appropriations Process

The annual appropriations process generally begins with the release of the President's budget in February. The Trump Administration's FY2026 budget release was delayed. A "skinny" budget was released in early May, with more details—including Congressional Budget Justifications—released beginning at the end of May. Part of the delay may be attributable to the change in administration. It may also be attributable to the delayed resolution of the FY2025 annual appropriations process, which culminated with enactment of a full-year continuing resolution funding agencies at FY2024 levels, with some anomalies (including for THUD), on March 15, 2025 (P.L. 119-4).

In order to begin congressional deliberation of individual appropriations acts, generally an agreement is reached via a budget resolution or other vehicle to establish both a top-line funding level for annual appropriations (called a 302(a) level) as well as individual appropriations subcommittee allocations (called 302(b) allocations). As of the date of this report, no such formal topline agreement has been reached in either the House or the Senate. On June 11, 2025, the House Committee on Appropriations ordered reported draft interim allocations for four of its 12 subcommittees, pending publication of the Appropriations Committee's 302(a) allocation in the Congressional Record by the Chair of the House Committee on the Budget; those draft allocations have subsequently been revised, including on July 17, when an allocation for THUD was adopted. The House THUD allocation was set at $89.910 billion, a 4% increase over the FY2025 enacted level. Although Senate committee action has begun on FY2026 appropriations bills, as of the date of this report, no formal allocations for FY2026 have been established for the Senate Committee on Appropriations or its subcommittees.

The following provides a brief overview of action on FY2026 THUD appropriations, including Table 1, which provides comparable funding levels at the THUD bill title level. That is followed by more detail, organized by bill Title.

President's Budget²

For the agencies that comprise the THUD budget, the President's FY2026 budget requests the following:

• For DOT, $26.7 billion in net new discretionary funding (+5.6% relative to FY2025 enacted). When paired with $83.3 billion in mandatory funding, total DOT funding would be $109.9 billion in FY2026 (+3% relative to FY2025 enacted).
• For HUD, $36.6 billion in net new discretionary funding (-46.8% relative to FY2025 enacted, including emergency-designated funding for regular program operations).
• For the related agencies typically funded in the THUD bill, $293 million (-32.3% relative to FY2025 enacted).³

House Committee Action

On July 17, the House Appropriations Committee marked up and ordered reported its FY2026 THUD appropriations bill (H.R. 4552; H.Rept. 119-212), following subcommittee markup on July 14. It includes the following:

• For DOT, $21.8 billion in new discretionary funding (-13.7% relative to FY2025 enacted). When paired with $83.3 billion in mandatory funding, total DOT funding would be $105.1 billion in FY2026 (-1.6% relative to FY2025 enacted).
• For HUD, $67.8 billion in net new discretionary funding (+11.6% relative to FY2025 enacted, including emergency-designated funding for regular program operations).
• For the related agencies typically funded in the THUD bill, $366 million (-15.5% relative to FY2025 enacted).

Senate Committee Action

Forgoing initial subcommittee markup, the Senate Appropriations Committee marked up and ordered reported its FY2026 THUD appropriations bill (S. 2465; S.Rept. 119-47) on July 24. It includes the following:

• For DOT, $26.5 billion in new discretionary funding (+5.1% relative to FY2025 enacted). When paired with $83.3 billion in mandatory funding, total DOT funding would be $109.8 billion in FY2026 (+2.8% relative to FY2025 enacted).
• For HUD, $73.3 billion in net new discretionary funding (+20.7% relative to FY2025 enacted, including emergency-designated funding for regular program operations).
• For the related agencies typically funded in the THUD bill, $424 million (-2.1% relative to FY2025 enacted).

Title I: Department of Transportation

The Department of Transportation (DOT) is responsible for the federal regulation and funding of most modes of U.S. transportation. Among its various responsibilities, DOT operates the nation's air traffic control system; regulates aviation, commercial trucking, and motor vehicle safety; and provides grants to support aviation, highway, transit, and passenger rail infrastructure as well as highway, maritime, and pipeline safety.

DOT is organized into 11 units. Five operating administrations each oversee a mode of transportation: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA); Federal Transit Administration (FTA); Federal Railroad Administration (FRA); Maritime Administration (MARAD); and, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). Three operating administrations oversee certain aspects of roadways: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA); Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA); and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Two offices have department-wide responsibilities: Office of the Secretary (OST) and Office of Inspector General (OIG). The Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (GLSDC) is the wholly owned government corporation that operates and maintains two locks on the St. Lawrence Seaway and other aspects of navigation infrastructure.⁴

The source of most of DOT's annual funding is provided by two periodic authorization acts, one for surface transportation programs and one for aviation programs. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA; P.L. 117-58) authorized programs and funding for surface transportation programs for FY2022-FY2026. The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 (P.L. 118-63) authorized AATF taxes and revenue collections and civil aviation program expenditures through FY2028. Most of the funding for the programs in those acts is drawn from the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) and the Aviation and Airways Trust Fund (AATF), respectively. HTF revenues come largely from fuel taxes and increasingly from transfers from the general fund of the Treasury.⁵ AATF revenues come largely from taxes on passenger tickets and aviation fuel and some general fund money.⁶

Most of the funding drawn from the HTF, and a portion of the funding drawn from the AATF, is in the form of contract authority, a type of budget authority that is considered mandatory (rather than discretionary). In addition to providing regular annual discretionary appropriations, the THUD bill includes obligation limitations on this mandatory budget authority. That mandatory budget authority does not count against the THUD bill's 302(b) discretionary suballocation.

Table 2 provides the detailed appropriations for DOT by agency and account (column 1) showing the FY2025 enacted funding levels (column 2), the FY2026 President's Budget Request (column 3), the FY2026 funding proposals from both the House Appropriations Committee (column 4) and the Senate Appropriations Committee (column 5), with column 6 reserved for FY2026 enacted funding levels. Total appropriations and net discretionary budget authority rows of the table reflect new discretionary budget authority. In addition to the total of budgetary resources provided at the conclusion of Table 2, the IIJA (P.L. 117-58, Division J) appropriated $36.8 billion in supplemental advance appropriations per year for various programs for each of FY2022-FY2026 (as shown Table 3).

Additional Funding for FY2023 Provided in the IIJA

In addition to regular annual appropriations and contract authority, some DOT agencies and programs receive supplemental advance appropriations. Specifically, DOT received $184.1 billion from Division J, Title VIII of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA; P.L. 117-58). These supplemental funds were provided in FY2022 as an advance appropriation, divided into equal portions ($36.8 billion total) that become available each year of the authorization period (FY2022-FY2026), for DOT programs authorized in Divisions A-C and J of the IIJA. That $36.8 billion in annual supplemental funding equals slightly over one-third of the FY2026 funding recommended for DOT in the THUD FY2026 appropriations bills. Table 3 shows the distribution of the supplemental funding available to DOT during FY2026. The House and the Senate committee bills propose transferring some FY2026 IIJA funding between accounts (discussed later in this report; see "IIJA Transfers".

Selected FY2026 DOT Appropriations Topics

Funding by Agency

Office of the Secretary (OST)

The Secretary of Transportation leads DOT and is the principal adviser to the President on transportation and federal transportation programs. OST develops and oversees national transportation policy and administers some grant, research, and credit programs. OST houses the Office of the Under Secretary for Policy, which oversees the Offices of Transportation Policy; Multimodal Freight and Infrastructure Policy; and Research, Development, and Technology. OST is funded by contract authority, annual appropriations, and multiyear advance appropriations (IIJA, Division J).

The FY2026 President's Budget includes a 57% reduction in funding for the OST. It includes no funding for the Rural and Tribal Infrastructure Advancement account, and no funding for the Office of Civil Rights account. Notably, for the Payments to Air Carriers account, the President's FY2026 budget requests a 68% reduction from FY2025 funding levels. The House and the Senate committees each propose a 14% increase in funding for FY2026 above FY2025 funding levels.

The Senate committee-reported bill includes funding for the National Infrastructure Investments account, the Rural and Tribal Infrastructure Advancement account, the Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization and Outreach account, and Office of Civil Rights account for FY2026, whereas neither the President's Budget request nor the House Appropriations Committee would provide FY2026 funding for these accounts.

The House and the Senate committees each propose a 14% increase in funding for FY2026 above FY2025 funding levels.

For Research and Technology, the President's budget includes a 2% increase above FY2025 levels. The House and Senate committee bills propose reductions to FY2025 funding levels for this account at 10% and 33%.

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)

FAA programs are funded under four broad budget accounts: Operations and Maintenance (such as air traffic control and aviation safety functions); Facilities and Equipment (such as control towers and navigation beacons); grants for airports under the Airport Improvement Program (AIP); and Research, Engineering and Development. Some important issues for the FAA are the age and operation of the air traffic control system, including the air traffic controller workforce, and aviation safety, including airline safety and aircraft certification.⁷

The FY2026 President's budget includes a 6% increase in funding for the FAA, including a 41% reduction for the Research, Engineering and Development account and a 26% increase in funding for the Facilities and Equipment account compared to FY2025 enacted funding levels. The House and Senate committees propose levels for the Operations and the Facilities and Equipment accounts for FY2026 that are generally similar ($13.752 billion and $13.818 billion, respectively) to FY2025 ($13.483 billion).

For the Research, Engineering, and Development account, the President's FY2026 request includes a 41% reduction in funding relative to the FY2025 enacted levels. The House committee bill proposes an 18% reduction in funding and the Senate committee bill proposes a four percent increase in FY2025 funding levels for FY2026.

For the Airport Discretionary Grants account, the President's FY2026 request includes no funding for this account. The House committee bill proposes a 527% increase in funding and the Senate committee bill proposes a 539% increase in FY2025 funding levels for FY2026. Of the funding proposed for this account, the House proposes to set aside 90% of funding for Community Project Funding and the Senate proposes to set aside 84% of funding for Congressionally Directed Spending (commonly referred to as earmarks).

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)

Federal funding for highway infrastructure is provided primarily through the federal-aid highway program administered by FHWA.⁸

The FY2026 President's Budget includes a 126% increase in funding for the FHWA with $770 million for the Highway Infrastructure Programs account compared to FY2025 enacted funding levels. This amount was requested for the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America Program (INFRA; 49 U.S.C. §6701).

The House Appropriations Committee proposes a 185% increase in funding for the Highway Infrastructure Programs account for FY2026 compared to FY2025 funding levels. The Senate Appropriations Committee proposes a 71% increase in funding levels for FY2026 compared to FY2025 funding levels. The House and the Senate committees propose funding for Community Project Funding ($954 million) and Congressionally Directed Spending ($581 million) in this account.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)

NHTSA is responsible for motor vehicle safety, highway safety, behavioral safety programs, motor vehicle information, and automobile fuel economy programs.⁹

The FY2026 President's budget includes no change in funding for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, compared to FY2025 enacted funding levels. The House Appropriations Committee proposes a 40% reduction in funding for the Operations and Research account, the sole account for NHTSA, for FY2026 compared to FY2025 funding levels. The Senate Appropriations Committee proposes a 71% reduction in funding levels for FY2026 compared to FY2025 funding levels.

Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)

FRA provides funding to monitor and enforce compliance with rail safety regulations, conduct rail research and development, subsidize the capital and operating expenses of the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak), and award grants to improve passenger and freight rail infrastructure, service, and equipment. Amtrak is reliant on annual appropriations to continue operating its national system of passenger routes, and determining the level of funding available for Amtrak and rail infrastructure grants is likely to be an issue for appropriators.¹⁰ The FY2026 President's Budget includes an 11% increase in funding for FRA (+$314 million), whereas the House Appropriations Committee proposes an 88% reduction (-$2.578 billion) to FY2025 funding levels ($2.925 billion). The Senate Appropriations Committee proposes funding levels for FY2026 comparable to FY2025 enacted funding levels.

FRA administers annual funding for Amtrak, which is divided into separate grants for the Northeast Corridor (the line connecting Boston, New York City, and Washington, DC) and the National Network (including short-distance routes that receive operating support from states and long-distance routes fully funded by Amtrak). The FY2026 President's Budget includes a 26% reduction in funding for the Northeast Corridor subaccount, and a 23% increase in funding for the National Network account compared to FY2025 enacted funding levels. For Amtrak grants, the House committee's proposal includes no funding for grants for the Northeast Corridor and National Network programs. The Senate committee proposes a 26% reduction to Northeast Corridor and a 23% increase of funding for National Network grants.

FRA also administers several grant programs that make funding available for states and/or rail carriers to improve or expand their infrastructure. These include the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) grant program established by the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST; P.L. 114-94), which can fund a wide variety of rail projects. The FY2026 President's Budget includes a 400% increase in funding (+$400 million) for CRISI compared to FY2025 enacted levels ($100 million). For the CRISI, the House committee proposes a 62% reduction in new discretionary budget authority compared to the FY2025 enacted level. The House committee's proposal for this account was 100% ($38 million) for Community Project Funding. The House committee proposes the transfer of $500 million from IIJA Division J appropriations for the Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Grants to the CRISI account. The Senate committee proposes a 7% increase in funding over FY2025 enacted funding levels with 48% of this funding for Congressionally Directed Spending. The Senate committee also proposes the transfer of $44.8 million of unobligated balances of the Highway Infrastructure Program account appropriated to carry out the National Electric Vehicle Formula Program to CRISI for grants.

The Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail program established by the IIJA is limited to projects that improve or expand intercity passenger (as opposed to commuter or freight) rail service. The House Appropriations Committee does not propose funding for the Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail account for FY2026. The Senate Appropriations Committee proposes a funding level for FY2026 that matches the FY2025 enacted level.

Federal Transit Administration (FTA)

Federal funding assistance to public transportation agencies is provided primarily through the public transportation program administered by the Department of Transportation's Federal Transit Administration (FTA).¹¹

The FTA's account for Capital Investment Grants supports state, local, and private investment in capital projects for new and expanded transit service. The House Appropriations Committee proposes an 87% reduction (-$2.099 billion) in FY2026 discretionary budget authority to FTA compared to FY2025 funding due to a 98% proposed reduction (-$2.151 billion) to the Capital Investment Grants account compared to FY2025 enacted levels ($2.205 billion). The Senate Appropriations Committee proposes a 7% reduction in FY2026 discretionary funding to FTA compared to FY2025 funding levels with the decrease to the Capital Investment Grants account. Overall, the Senate Appropriations Committee proposes 35 times more new discretionary budget authority to the Capital Investments Grants account ($1.95 billion) than the House Appropriations Committee ($54 million) does.

The FTA's Transit Infrastructure Grants account supports grants for ferry boat service, research and development, buses, bus facilities, earmarks, and more. The House Appropriations Committee proposes a 113% increase in funding for the Transit Infrastructure Grants account compared to FY2025 enacted funding levels. Of the amount proposed, 98% of the funding is proposed to be directed to Community Project Funding. The Senate Appropriations Committee proposes a 209% increase in funding for FY2026 over FY2025 enacted level. Of that amount, 42% of funding would be directed to Congressionally Directed Spending. The Transit Infrastructure Grants account is 31% of House Appropriations Committee's proposal and 6% of the Senate Appropriation Committee's proposal for FTA.

The FY2026 President's Budget includes a 2% reduction in funding for the FTA, including no funding for the Transit Infrastructure Grants account and the Technical Assistance and Training account, and no change in funding for the Capital Investment Grants account compared to FY2025 enacted levels.

Great Lakes Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (GLSLSDC)

GLSDC is a wholly owned government corporation that operates and maintains two locks on the St. Lawrence Seaway at Massena, NY, as well as other aspects of navigation infrastructure. (Canada owns and operates the other 13 locks on the seaway). GLSDC's budget is funded entirely from the Harbor Maintenance Tax, which is an ad valorem tax on imported and domestic cargo shipped through U.S. coastal and Great Lakes ports.¹² The Harbor Maintenance Tax funds the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund.

Operations and Maintenance is the sole account for the Great Lakes Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (GLSLSDC). The House Appropriations Committee proposes a 5% reduction in funding for GLSLSDC for FY2026 compared to FY2025 enacted funding levels. The reduction in funding to GLSLSDC would leave funding for Army Corps of Engineer water resource projects. The Senate Appropriations Committee proposes a 1% increase in funding for FY2026 compared to FY2025 enacted levels, matching the President's FY2026 request for funding.

Maritime Administration (MARAD)

The Maritime Administration (MARAD) supports programs for U.S. shipyards, ports, waterways, ships and shipping, vessel operations, ship disposal, and maritime education. MARAD also supports the U.S.-flag ocean shipping fleet and U.S. commercial shipyards.

The FY2026 President's Budget includes a 106% increase in funding for the Maritime Administration, with the DOT budget documents¹³ noting that the funding increase would support the Administration's executive order "Restoring America's Maritime Dominance" including a 100% increase to the Tanker Security Program account, a 1,100% increase to the Assistance to Small Shipyard account ($105 million), and a 1,000% increase to the Port Infrastructure Development account ($550 million) compared to FY2025 enacted funding levels ($9 million and $50 million, respectively). The request also includes an increase in grants for small shipyards (shipyards with fewer than 1,200 employees).¹⁴

• For the Maritime Security Program account, the House Appropriations Committee and the Senate Appropriations Committee propose an increase of funding of 17% and 23% above the FY2025 enacted level, respectively.
• For the Tanker Security Program account, the House Appropriations Committee proposes a 52% increase in funding. The Senate Appropriations Committee proposes a 104% increase in funding.
• For State Maritime Academy account, the House Appropriations Committee proposes a FY2026 funding level that matches the President's request for the account, which is a 28% increase compared with FY2025. The Senate Appropriations Committee proposes a 14% increase in funding level compared to FY2025.
• For the Assistance to Small Shipyards account, the Senate Appropriations Committee proposes $30 million, which is a 243% increase in funding level compared to the FY2025 enacted amount ($9 million). The House Appropriations Committee proposes no new funding for this account in FY2026.
• For the Maritime Guaranteed Loan account, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees each propose $4 million, a 93% reduction in funding compared to the FY2025 enacted level ($54 million).
• For the Port Infrastructure Development account, the House Appropriations Committee proposes a 13% reduction in funding for FY2026 compared to FY2025 funding. For the Port Infrastructure Development account, the FY2026 funding level proposed by the House Appropriations Committee is directed to Community Project Funding, comprising one-third of total funding proposed for MARAD. The Senate Appropriations Committee proposes a 93% increase in funding for FY2026 compared to FY2025 funding. Of the FY2026 funding proposed, the Senate Appropriations Committee proposed to direct 22% for Congressionally Directed Spending.

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA)

PHMSA is responsible for pipeline safety and the safe transport of hazardous materials (hazmat) by all transportation modes. PHMSA has the primary responsibility for the formulation, administration, and oversight of onshore pipeline safety regulations in the United States. The agency carries out such responsibilities through its Office of Pipeline Safety, which oversees pipeline operators, supports state pipeline safety agencies, and cooperates with other federal agencies that have pipeline safety responsibilities, among other duties. PHMSA also regulates the safe packaging of hazmat by road, rail, and water transport and provides grants for training emergency personnel to respond to hazmat incidents.¹⁵

The FY2026 President's Budget includes no change in funding for the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration compared to FY2025 enacted funding levels. For the Hazardous Materials Safety account, the House Appropriations Committee and Senate Appropriations Committee propose reductions of 8% (-$6 million) and 1% (-$1 million), respectively, relative to FY2025 ($75 million).

The Senate Appropriations Committee proposes a new account for Design Review, with funding of $200,000.

Office of Inspector General (OIG)

OIG conducts independent audits, investigations, and evaluations of DOT programs and operations, including contracts and grants. The FY2026 President's Budget includes no change in funding for the Office of the Inspector General compared to FY2025 enacted funding levels.

The House Appropriations Committee proposes a 10% reduction in funding for the Salaries and Expenses account relative to FY2025, while the Senate Appropriations Committee proposes a funding level that matches the FY2025 enacted level.

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

FMCSA was established to improve highway safety through regulation of equipment and operating standards for commercial motor vehicle operators. FMCSA receives budget authority through the IIJA in the form of contract authority, with funds drawn from the highway account of the Highway Trust Fund. The IIJA also provided funding to FMCSA through multiyear advance appropriations from the General Fund. FMCSA does not generally receive regular annual discretionary appropriations.

IIJA Transfers

Both the House and Senate Appropriations Committee bills propose transfers of IIJA advance appropriation funding in FY2026 to supplement—or in some cases replace—regular annual appropriations provided in the bill.

Transfers from FHWA Accounts

From the FHWA's IIJA Highway Infrastructure Program account, the following transfers of unobligated balances to other agency's accounts are proposed for FY2026, instead of, or in addition to, the provision of new budget authority:

• For FRA, the Senate committee proposes the transfer of $45 million to the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) account of unobligated balances that would become available for FY2026 for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program (IIJA, Division J, paragraph 2). The National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program was newly-established by the IIJA at paragraph (2) of Division J.
• For FAA, the House committee proposes the transfer of $1 billion in Highway Infrastructure Program supplemental funding appropriated in the IIJA to FAA's Facilities and Equipment account of unobligated balances that would become available for FY2026 for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program.
• For MARAD, the House committee proposes the transfer of $80 million for the Port Infrastructure Development Program from FY2023-2026 IIJA unobligated balances from FHWA's Highway Infrastructure Program account, Reduction of Truck Emissions at Port Facilities Program. The Reduction of Truck Emissions at Port Facilities Program was newly-established by section 11402 of the IIJA.
• For MARAD, the House committee proposes the transfer of $30 million for the Assistance to Small Shipyards program from FY2023-2026 IIJA unobligated balances from FHWA's Highway Infrastructure Program account, Reduction of Truck Emissions at Port Facilities Program.

Intra-Agency Account Transfers

For FHWA, the Senate committee proposes the transfer between programs of $555 million of IIJA funding within the Highway Infrastructure Program account. Of this total, $320 million would be derived from funding appropriated in the IIJA for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program, and $75 million would be derived from funding appropriated for the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation. Both of these programs were newly established under the IIJA. The funding would be redirected to existing activities including the Appalachian Development Highway System, Federal Lands Transportation Program, the Northern Border Regional Commission, Southwest Border Regional Commission, and the Denali Commission.

For FRA, the House committee proposes the transfer of $2.8 billion of unobligated balances of supplemental funding appropriated by the IIJA to Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Grants (49 U.S.C. §24911). Of this amount, the House bill would transfer another $500 million in Federal-State Partnership funding to the existing Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) rail grant program, $925 million for the existing Northeast Corridor Grants to the National Railroad Passenger Corporation account (instead of appropriating new discretionary budget authority), and $1.39 billion for the existing National Network Grants to the National Railroad Passenger Corporation. The Senate committee bill does not propose transfers between IIJA accounts at the Federal Railroad Administration.

For NHTSA, the House and the Senate committees propose the transfer of IIJA advance appropriations to NHTSA's Vehicle Safety Account (instead of appropriating new discretionary budget authority). The House committee proposes transferring $78 million in IIJA funding from the Highway Traffic Safety Grant account. The Senate committee proposes the transfer of $145 million of IIJA funding, $95 million from the Highway Traffic Safety Grant account and $50 million from the Crash Data account.

"Earmarks"

As noted earlier, the THUD appropriations bill is one of the largest sources of Community Project Funding/Congressionally Directed Spending—commonly referred to as "earmarks"—in the annual appropriation process. In FY2025 no earmarks were included in the year-long continuing resolution. For FY2026, as is common, the President's budget requests no earmarked funding. The House Appropriations Committee bill proposes $1.43 billion for Community Project Funding in FY2006, which is 6.4% of total gross appropriations DOT. The Senate Appropriations Committee bill includes $992 million in Congressionally Directed Spending projects, which is 3.7% of total gross appropriations that would be provided to DOT in the bill.

Selected Proposed Administrative Provisions of the House and Senate

For FHWA, the Senate committee would direct the agency to update the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure formula program guidance by presenting a draft for public comment within 30 days following the enactment of the act and issuing final program guidance within 120 days of enactment of the act.¹⁶

For FTA, the Senate committee would require that "none of the funds made available by the Act be used to impede or hinder project advancement and approval" for Capital Investment Grant projects where applicants are seeking a 40% federal contribution of project costs.¹⁷ The House committee bill would rescind the unobligated balances from prior year appropriations to the Transit Infrastructure Grants account.¹⁸ The Senate committee bill would make $146 million in unobligated balances available for programs under Safe, Accessible, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act (SAFETEA; P.L. 109-59) available for activities related to the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Games ($68 million), and for the 2026 FIFA World Cup ($78 million).¹⁹ The Senate committee bill specifies four repealed or amended SAFETEA programs with unobligated balances to be used including the Clean Fuels Program (49 U.S.C. §5308), the Alternatives Analysis Program (49 U.S.C. §5339), the Jobs Access and Reverse Commute Formula Grants (49 U.S.C. §5316), and funding eligible for "bus and bus-related equipment and facilities" under the Capital Investment Grants program at 49 U.S.C. §5309.²⁰

For FRA, the House and Senate committees would prohibit the use of funds to reduce Amtrak Police staffing below the May 1, 2019 levels.²¹ The House committee bill would prohibit the use of funds on high-speed rail corridor development in California, high-speed rail in Texas, and inter-city passenger rail in Minnesota.²²

For FMCSA, the Senate committee bill would direct the agency to update regulations for the English language proficiency qualifications of commercial motor vehicle drivers at 49 C.F.R. §301.11(b)(2) so that non-compliance would result in out-of-service status for the driver.²³ Another Senate committee bill provision would require DOT to provide updates to Congress on certificates issued by training providers of entry-level driver training for commercial driver's license pursuers.²⁴

Title II: Department of Housing and Urban Development

Overview

HUD is the nation's housing agency. The programs and activities it administers are designed primarily to address housing problems faced by households with very low incomes or other special housing needs, and to expand access to homeownership.²⁵ The largest share of HUD's budget is devoted to its rental assistance programs: Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers; project-based rental assistance via Section 8, Section 202, and Section 811; and public housing. These programs, which serve over 4.6 million households, provide subsidies to allow low-income recipients to pay below-market, income-based rent.

Two flexible block grant programs—the HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) and the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program—help states and local governments finance a variety of housing and community development activities designed to serve low-income families. The Indian Housing Block Grant and the Indian Community Development Block Grant programs provide funds for Indian tribes to address their own housing and community development needs.

Other more specialized grant programs help communities meet the needs of homeless persons (through the Homeless Assistance Grants, namely the Continuum of Care and Emergency Solutions Grants programs), including those living with HIV/AIDS (through the Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS program). Additional programs fund fair housing enforcement activities and lead-based paint hazard identification and remediation, along with other healthy homes initiatives.

HUD's Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insures mortgages made by lenders to homebuyers with low down payments and to developers of multifamily rental buildings containing relatively affordable units. FHA collects fees from borrowers with FHA-insured mortgages, which are used to sustain its insurance funds. The Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA), or Ginnie Mae, is also a part of HUD and it guarantees securities made up of federally insured or guaranteed mortgages.

Table 4 provides detailed appropriations information for HUD accounts and selected subaccounts, comparing FY2025 enacted to FY2026.

Selected FY2026 HUD Appropriations Topics

Rental Assistance

Among the largest expenses in HUD's budget are the annual costs of maintaining assistance for the nearly 5 million families who are served by rental assistance programs.²⁶ Combined, funding for HUD's rental assistance programs accounted for 82% of HUD's gross discretionary appropriations in FY2025, most of which is used to maintain assistance for currently-assisted families. The cost of maintaining, or renewing, rental assistance—particularly in the Housing Choice Voucher and the project-based rental assistance programs—typically increases each year, driven largely by rental cost increases outpacing increases in tenant incomes.

The President's budget for FY2026 requested no new funding for HUD's rental assistance and related programs, and instead requests funding for a new State Rental Assistance Program. According to HUD's FY2026 Congressional Budget Justifications,²⁷ under this new program, states would receive allocations based on a formula that would take into account data on rental assistance in prior years and could favor assistance provided to elderly or disabled residents over assistance to non-elderly, non-disabled households. The documents also state that the intent of the proposal is to allow states to design rental assistance programs that best meet their needs and to prioritize the housing needs of low-income elderly and disabled households. Under this proposal, rental assistance to nonelderly, nondisabled households would be capped at two years; currently, there is no time limit on rental assistance.

The President's budget documents note that this proposal would require enactment of authorizing legislation. As of the date of this report, no further details or draft authorizing legislation has been released.

As shown in Table 5, the amount of funding requested for the State Rental Assistance Program (SRAP) for FY2026 is 42% lower than the amount of funding allocated to federal subsidies for rental assistance in FY2025, when HUD's rental assistance programs received a combined $62.9 billion.

Neither the House nor Senate Appropriations Committee-reported bills would adopt the President's SRAP request and both would continue to fund each of HUD's rental assistance programs.

Homeless Assistance

The President's FY2026 budget proposes to fund the Homeless Assistance Grants account at just below (-0.7%) the FY2025 enacted level. However, the budget proposes a significant change in the way funding would be allocated to grantees. It would end funding for competitive Continuum of Care (CoC) grants and instead fund formula grants through the Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) program. While CoC and ESG have some eligible activities in common, CoC grants can be used for two interventions that ESG grants cannot: permanent supportive housing and transitional housing. In FY2023, 63% of CoC funds were used for permanent supportive housing and 8% for either transitional housing or joint transitional housing/rapid rehousing projects.²⁸

Neither the House committee-passed bill nor the Senate committee-passed bill includes the President's proposal to redirect CoC funding to ESG. The House committee bill would provide $3.858 billion for CoC grants (+9% relative to FY2025) and $290 million for ESG (the same level as FY2025); the Senate committee bill would provide $4.023 billion for CoC grants (+14% relative to FY2025) and the same level as the House committee bill and FY2025 for ESG.

Native American Programs

HUD administers several programs specifically for federally-recognized Indian tribes and Alaska Native villages. These include formula and competitive grants through the Indian Housing Block Grant (IHBG) program and competitive grants through the Indian Community Development Block Grant (ICDBG) program, all of which are typically funded in the Native American Programs account, as well as funding for rental assistance through Tribal-HUD VASH, which has typically been funded in the Tenant-Based Rental Assistance Account.

The President's FY2026 budget request proposes lower funding for IHBG formula grants (-21% relative to FY2025) and ICDBG (-93% relative to FY2025), and proposes no new funding for IHBG competitive grants. It also proposes including $10 million to renew existing Tribal HUD-VASH rental assistance in the Native American Programs account rather than the Tenant-Based Rental Assistance Account.

The House committee-reported bill would provide the same amount of funding for the Native American Programs account as FY2025; funding for the IHBG and ICDBG programs would be at the same levels as FY2025, and the bill would continue to fund Tribal HUD-VASH in the TBRA account. The Senate committee-reported bill would provide $10 million more for the Native American Programs account compared to FY2025, reflecting the inclusion of $10 million in Tribal HUD-VASH funding in the account, consistent with the President's budget request. The Senate committee bill would provide the same amount of funding for IHBG formula grants as FY2025, but it would provide $50 million less for IHBG competitive grants ($100 million compared to $150 million) and $50 million more for ICDBG ($125 million compared to $75 million).

Another program, the Native Hawaiian Housing Block Grant, provides funding to Hawaii's Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to use for housing activities for Native Hawaiians eligible to reside on the Hawaiian Home Lands. In FY2025, $22.3 million was appropriated for this program. The President's budget proposes no new funding, stating that it "recognizes a greater role for State and local governments, the private sector, and nonprofits to address community and economic development needs in localities across the Nation."²⁹ The House committee-reported bill would provide $18.3 million for the program (-18% relative to FY2025), while the Senate committee bill would maintain the FY2025 funding level.

Elimination of Grant Programs

The President's FY2026 budget proposes to eliminate funding for several HUD grant programs.

The largest grant program slated for elimination, which was funded at $3.3 billion in FY2025, is the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. The program provides formula grant funding to states and localities to fund various community development activities. Eligible activities include planning, public works and facilities, housing, public services, and economic development. The President's budget request justified CDBG's elimination citing "poorly targeted" and "wasteful" projects.³⁰ H.R. 4552 would fund the program at the FY2025 level and S. 2465 would fund it at $3.1 billion, a 6% reduction relative to FY2025 and the House committee-proposed level.

Two related competitive grant programs—funded in the CDBG account—are also proposed for no new funding in the President's budget: the SUPPORT program, which funds opioid recovery housing, and the CDBG PRO Housing competition, which provides grants for removing barriers to affordable housing development. SUPPORT would be funded at the FY2025 level ($30 million) by both the House and Senate committee bills; CDBG PRO-Housing would receive no funding in the House committee bill, but $60 million in the Senate committee bill.

The HOME Investment Partnerships block grant program, which provides formula grant funding to states and localities to fund various affordable housing activities, also is proposed for elimination by the President's FY2026 budget. Funded at $1.25 billion in FY2025, eligible activities include new construction, rehabilitation, and acquisition of both rental and homeownership housing, as well as tenant-based rental assistance. The President's budget justifications for the HOME Investment Partnership's block grant contend as justification for the program elimination that "[t]he Federal Government's involvement increases the regulatory burden of producing affordable housing."³¹ H.R. 4552 would adopt the President's proposal to provide no new funding for the program in FY2026, but the committee report provides a different rationale, citing grantees' unspent balances of emergency funding allocated by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (P.L. 117-2).³² This emergency funding is referred to as HOME-ARP. Of the $4.95 billion in HOME-ARP funding allocated to state and local grantees (including $25 million to existing technical assistance providers), $4.09 billion was unspent as of June 2025, and an additional $22 million was unobligated.³³ HOME-ARP funds, unlike formula HOME funds, must primarily benefit people who are homeless; are at risk of homelessness or housing instability; or are fleeing domestic violence. S. 2465 would fund the HOME program at its FY2025 level.

H.R. 4552 proposes to rescind unobligated balances of FY2025 funding for a number of competitive grant programs for which HUD has not yet made awards. These include

• The Youth Homelessness Demonstration, funded within the Homeless Assistance Grants account at $107 million in FY2025 (rescission included in the account funding language)
• Public Housing grants for lead and other health hazard elimination, funded at $65 million in FY2025 (Section 235)
• Choice Neighborhoods grants, funded at $75 million in FY2025 (Section 235)
• Grants for Recovery Housing, as authorized by Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment [SUPPORT] for Patients and Communities Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-271), funded within the Community Development Fund account at $30 million in FY2025 (Section 235)
• Eviction Prevention Grants, funded at $20 million in the Research and Technology account in FY2025 (rescission included in the account funding language).

The Senate committee-passed bill does not include these rescissions, but does include one that was not included in the House committee-passed bill:

• Assisted Housing Inspections and Risk Assessments, funded at $50 million in FY2025, would have $25 million in unobligated balances rescinded (Section 249(f)). (Remaining unobligated balances from amounts provided in FY2024 for Fair Housing Activities would also be rescinded, but an equal amount would be appropriated for FY2026 (Section 250). This would allow for funds to be recaptured and reappropriated before their expiration date.

"Earmarks"

The Community Development Fund account is often used to fund Congressionally Directed Spending or Community Project Funds—commonly referred to as "earmarks." These are provided through a set-aside for Economic Development Initiative (EDI) grants. Under the terms of the FY2025 full year CR, no funding was provided for EDI earmarks for the first time since FY2022. For FY2026, the President's budget, as is typical, requests no funding for EDIs (it included no funding for the CDF account as a whole). The House committee bill proposes $2.31 billion in EDI earmarks for FY2026 and the Senate committee bill proposes $1.35 billion. These amounts reflect 3% and 2% of proposed total gross HUD appropriations, respectively.

Select General Provisions

Each year, the THUD appropriations act includes dozens of General Provisions (GPs) for HUD, which involve administrative guidance on how funding provided in the act should and should not be used and, in some cases, amendments to laws that govern the department's programs and activities. Many of these GPs are carried over from year to year, but some new GPs are generally added each year. Some of the new GPs under consideration for the FY2026 appropriations cycle are discussed below.

House Committee-Reported Bill

• Section 236 would prohibit HUD from providing funding to jurisdictions that refuse to coordinate with the Department of Homeland Security in relation to certain immigration enforcement activities.
• Section 237 would prohibit HUD from using funding in the bill to enforce updated energy efficiency standards for newly-constructed HUD-assisted housing that were adopted in a notice that was finalized during the previous administration.
• Section 238 would prohibit HUD from using funding in the bill to enforce a 30-day notice to vacate policy associated with evictions that was finalized during the previous administration.
• Section 239 would give the HUD Secretary the authority to waive many of the rent rules governing federal rental assistance programs, potentially allowing landlords and program administrators to decrease or increase tenant rents or set other related requirements, as determined by the Secretary, for a period of no less than seven years.
• Section 240 would allow full funding fungibility for PHAs, allowing them to use their public housing operating and capital grants interchangeably. Current law only provides full fungibility to small PHAs; other PHAs are limited to transferring no more than 20% their funds between their operating and capital grants.

Senate Committee-Passed Bill

• Section 233 would permit the Secretary to award contract administrator awards for the Section 8 project-based rental assistance program through a cooperative agreement.
• Section 238 would authorize the Secretary of HUD to forgive or restructure debts related to flexible subsidy loans on older assisted multifamily properties through FY2028 and would appropriate $3.3 million for this purpose.
• Section 241 would prohibit funds provided by the act from being used to close or relocate field or regional offices except as provided for in the act and would require that HUD maintain at least one functional field office in each state.
• Section 242 would require HUD to conduct rulemaking subject to federal law requiring for public participation and comment periods of no less than 60 days.
• Section 243 would require the HUD Secretary to submit to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations a list with all grants, cooperation agreements, and contracts that were obligated and subsequently terminated or reduced in scope in 2025 or where the terms and conditions of agreements were changed or modified in FY2025, including an explanation for terminations or changes, and the affected recipients, location, and the source of funding.
• Sections 245-248 would make certain changes related to Native American housing programs.
• Section 406 would prohibit any funding in the bill from being used to relocate an office or reduce personnel without notifying the Housing and Senate Appropriations Committees 30 days in advance. As context, the HUD Secretary has announced his intent to move HUD headquarters out of the Weaver building to another location. S.Rept. 119-47 states:

The Committee notes that HUD has recently announced its intention to move out of its headquarters building, and that a budget and timeline for such a move is still being developed. As such, the Department has not requested any funding in fiscal year 2026 to facilitate a transition out of the current headquarters space, and the Committee recommendation does not include any funding for that purpose at this time. The Committee directs the Department to brief the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations within 30 days of enactment of this act on: (1) the program of requirements developed for the HUD headquarters, (2) the total budget for the move, build-out, and maintenance of the new headquarters space, with agency responsibilities and sources of funding delineated between HUD and the General Services Administration, (3) the detailed timeline for the proposed move, and (4) any analysis of alternative buildings considered this year.

Title III: Related Agencies

The annual THUD appropriations bill generally provides funding for seven independent agencies that undertake activities related to transportation and/or housing:

• The U.S. Access Board is an independent federal agency designed to coordinate other federal agencies to promote accessible design and the development of accessibility guidelines and standards to ensure access to federally funded public infrastructure for persons with disabilities.³⁴
• The Federal Maritime Commission is an independent federal agency charged with regulating U.S. ocean commerce.³⁵
• The Amtrak Inspector General is an independent organization charged with providing oversight of Amtrak's programs and operations.³⁶
• The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigates accidents, crashes, and other events in transportation.³⁷
• The Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation (NeighborWorks America) is a congressionally chartered nonprofit that supports a network of community organizations that provide affordable housing, financial counseling, and resident engagement.³⁸
• The Surface Transportation Board is an independent federal agency is "charged with the economic regulation of various modes of surface transportation, primarily freight rail."³⁹
• The Interagency Council on Homelessness is an independent federal agency charged with coordinating the federal response to homelessness.⁴⁰

U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness

Both the FY2026 President's budget and the House committee-reported bill propose to eliminate funding for the USICH, while the Senate committee-reported bill would cut funding in half, from $4 million in FY2025 to $2 million. The USICH, authorized as part of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (P.L. 100-77), is made up of representatives from multiple federal agencies who, together with the USICH executive director and staff, are to coordinate efforts to address homelessness nationally. The USICH is also responsible for releasing a National Strategic Plan to End Homelessness and for supporting state and local governments and nonprofit organizations in their efforts to provide assistance to people experiencing homelessness, among other activities.

Footnotes