Following an extended lame duck session, Congress sent to the White House just before Christmas four appropriations bills with funding for federal construction-related activities. Both General Services Administration construction accounts were increased: federal building construction will receive $472 million, up $397 million from the preceding year, and $671 million will be allocated for repairs and alterations, an increase of $72 million.
Also approved was a healthy $1.2 billion in direct grants for school repair and renovation, as was expected.
The Bureau of Prisons was allocated $836 million, up from $557 million. The airport improvement program will receive $3.2 billion, a $1.25 billion hike.
An appropriation of $276 million, available on Oct. 1, was approved for the construction of courthouses in Miami; Springfield, Mass.; Buffalo, N.Y.; and an annex in Washington, D.C.
