Over at Logistics Management they are reporting mixed feelings from the transportation industry about President Bush’s proposed FY 2009 budget when it comes to the DOT (Department of Transportation). Some of the positives:

This budget proposal places a strong emphasis on fighting congestion, as well as to implement new and innovative ways to fight gridlock on the roads and in the air, Peters said in a statement. And the DOT added to supplement these efforts, the budget provides a record $10.1 billion for transit programs.

Peters also noted that the budget also encourages innovation in fighting gridlock by proposing to use $175 million in inactive earmarks and 75 percent of certain discretionary highway and transit program funds to fight congestion and give priority to projects that combine a mix of pricing, transit, and technology solutions.

And here’s a breakdown of some of the larger numbers:

The DOT’s breakdown of the budget items indicated that total discretionary budget resources from fiscal 2008 to fiscal 2009 would decline from $69.246 billion to $63.422 billion. Some of the freight transportation departments facing the biggest budget cuts would be the Federal Railroad Administration declining from $1.561 billion to $1.091 billion and the Federal Highway Administration, with funding dropping from $41.241 billion to $35.514 billion. On the positive side is funding for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration possibly bumping up from $530 million to $541 million, and the Federal Maritime Administration increasing annual funding from $306 million to $314 million.

The article includes feedback from James Oberstar of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the AAPA (American Association of Port Authorities).

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