Discussion response

( Brian )

PLEASE RESPOND TO BOTH DISCUSSIONS.

1st Dicussion

The Department of Transportation (hereinafter, DOT) requested $89 billion for FY 2021 as part of the President’s Budget.  Per the executive summary to the FY 2021 Budget Highlights package (obtained from the DOT webpage), the budget “underscores the Administration’s commitment to making transportation systems safer and improving the state of transportation infrastructure” (transportation.gov, n.d., FY 2021 Budget Highlights, Executive Summary section, para. 1).  This is in line with the DOT’s mission. 

I did some more research to see the status of the appropriation for this agency for 2021.  Per the House Committee on Appropriations, for FY 2021, the DOT bill was for $107.2 billion in budgetary resources—about $19 billion more than the budget request (approporiations.house.gov, 2020, Bill Summary section)!  Something clearly happened in committee hearings. 

I compared the bill versus the budget request and my key highlights were derived from that comparison (using the house appropriations site as a guide—I didn’t read the whole 268-page bill!!):   

• $10 million for Transportation Planning Grants for the purpose of assisting areas of persistent poverty.  This is a competitive grant program, and was not included in the 2021 Budget request. 


• An increase of $618 million above the 2021 Budget request for the FAA ($17.5 billion was the original budget request). The increase was primarily due to additional amounts appropriated for Aviation Safety (increase of $96 million) and discretionary Airport Improvement Grants (increase of $500 million). 


• An additional $26 million, not in the 2021 Budget Request, to support the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and provide funding to strengthen the nation’s “aging infrastructure”.  Grants under this funding were offered to DOT for Cyber Security Initiatives, Northeast Corridor Grants to AMTRAK, Assistance to Small Shipyards, and a number of other agencies or concerns. 

The source for the highlights above was appropriations.house.gov.  I would encourage everyone to bookmark this site and follow legislation regarding your chosen agency and their budget request for FY 2021.  Pay close attention to the variances between the budget request and the bill, if any.  You can very clearly see what the administration’s priorities are, and what is being done with your taxpayer money.  I listed three highlights above (to fulfill the discussion request), but there were so many other points that shined a light on exactly what this administration is attempting to emphasize via budget action. 

Note:  Per Congress.gov, the bill that included the proposed appropriation for the DOT passed the House 217 – 197 yeas to nays.  It was received in the Senate on August 12th. 

Budget action is a very powerful tool indeed.  Several programs may have an impact on your daily life, and whether these programs are funded appropriately is of vital importance. 

References 

House Committee on Appropriations.  (2020, July 1).  Appropriations Committee Releases Fiscal Year 2021 Transportation-Housing and Urban Development Funding Bill. https://appropriations.house.gov/news/press-releases/appropriations-committee-releases-fiscal-year-2021-transportation-housing-and 

Department of Transportation. (n.d.).  FY 2021 Budget Highlights. https://www.transportation.gov/mission/budget/fiscal-year-2021-budget-highlights 

2nd discussion

The Defense Information System Agency has a total budget for the 2021 FIscal year of $9.4 billion, $2.2 billion are congressional appropriations, and $6.9 billion of Defense Working Capital Fund (DISA,n.d.).

$123,628 thousand will be used in the transition to a net-centric environment, which $40,792 thousand will be used to provide a portfolio of critical enterprise services to warfighter, business, and intelligence end-users on the secret internet protocol (Defense Information Systems Agency, 2020).

The DODIN ES will use $50,597 thousand to support systems engineering, interface standards, and modeling and simulation environment, enabling DISA development and the DOD architectures and capabilities (Defense Information Systems Agency, 2020). A surprising fact was the background investigation IT systems did not project any budget for its operations since they will transfer this to the DOD, while the DISA will be responsible for the development, implementation, and sustainment of the new background system (Defense Information Systems Agency, 2020).

References,

Defense Information Systems Agency. (2020). Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 Budget Estimates. https://comptroller.defense.gov/Portals/45/Documents/defbudget/fy2021/budget_justification/pdfs/01_Operation_and_Maintenance/O_M_VOL_1_PART_1/DISA_OP-5.pdf

DISA. (n.d.). DISA's budget. Defense Information Systems Agency. https://disa.mil/About/Our-Work/Budget