Bush Signs Short-Term Budget, FAA Stopgap Measure

President Bush has signed into law a short-term appropriations bill to keep the federal government in operation through March 6, and a six-month stopgap measure that will fund the Federal Aviation Administration and its airport construction grant program through the end of that month. Both laws include bond-related provisions totaling more than $8 billion.

Bush signed the bills Tuesday night, the final day of the 2008 fiscal year.

The continuing resolution will fund the federal government at current levels for more than five months, or until Congress passes the fiscal year 2009 appropriations bills.

One component of the $630 billion measure authorizes new bond-related community development funds for disaster areas. An additional $6.5 billion in Community Development Block Grants were added to the legislation for states recovering from federally declared disasters, including hurricanes Gustav and Ike, flooding in the Midwest, and forest fires in Western states.

The grants could be used for refinancing or rehabilitation of rental and owner-occupied housing. They can also be used to repay bonds, function as a debt service reserve, or used in conjunction with bonds, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. In addition, the existing CDBG program will be funded at fiscal 2008 levels through March 6.

It also extends appropriations for the federal airport improvement program that allocates construction grants to states. The grants are used to back tax-exempt bonds or to supplement other funding sources, such as bond proceeds.

The FAA extension that became law Tuesday night authorizes $1.95 billion in AIP grants through the end of March. It also continues the agency's ability to collect and spend taxes that fund the Airport and Airway Trust Fund. The administration has been kept afloat by temporary funding bills since September 2007.

President Bush indicated he was signing off on the continuing appropriations bill reluctantly, even though it lifts a moratorium on offshore drilling.

"I am disappointed that the Congress passed a long-term continuing resolution," Bush said. He then called for Congress to pass spending, tax, and free trade bills before adjourning for the year.

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