DOT budget request would increase safety funding

Washington – President Barack Obama’s fiscal year 2015 budget request for the Department of Transportation, released March 4, would fund multiple transportation safety agencies and programs at higher levels than previous fiscal years.

The budget request includes the following increases over FY 2014 enacted levels:

• Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration: $668.5 million (an $83.5 million increase)
• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: $851 million (a $32 million increase)
• Federal Railroad Administration’s funding for safety and operations: $185.3 million (a slight increase)
• Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration: $260.5 million (a $50.5 million increase)

The request also includes a $302 billion proposal (with $6.7 billion to continue funding a variety of highway safety programs) that would reauthorize surface transportation programs for four years once the current authorization, MAP-21, ends Sept. 30.

Additionally, the proposed budget features $40 million over two years for a new fund to support the safe transportation of hazardous materials in the United States.