Fiscal Year 2023 DOT Budget Heads to Congress

The Biden administration submitted to Congress the President’s $105 billion fiscal year 2023 budget for the U.S. Department of Transportation. With the inclusion of an additional $37 billion in guaranteed Advanced Appropriations provided under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the DOT’s total budget will be $142 billion.

Fiscal year 2023 marks the second year of the implementation of the BIL, which provides a “once in a generation opportunity to modernize the U.S. transportation infrastructure and build the foundation the American people need to compete and win in the 21st Century,” DOT officials said in a press release.

The budget includes $59.5 billion for the Federal Highway Safety Administration, $1.3 billion for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and $874 million for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Including allocations for technology development and safety, such as:

• $3 billion for FHWA’s Highway Safety Improvement Program, which seeks to reduce the number of lives lost on the nation’s highways, bridges and roads.
• $1 billion for the new National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program in advanced appropriations to create a national network of convenient, affordable, and reliable electric vehicle charging stations. Also included is $400 million for the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Grants Program to further increase electric vehicle charging access throughout the country, including in rural and underserved communities.
• $506 million for FMCSA’s Motor Carrier Safety Grants, which represent an ongoing investment into commercial motor vehicle safety through the consistent nationwide application and enforcement of commercial motor vehicles and commercial driver’s license laws.
•  $49.8 million for NHTSA’s Vehicle Safety Research, to study vehicle improvements and other technological advances that can better protect people in a crash and reduce the likelihood of crashes, including:
  • $18.1 million for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems.
  • $3.1 million for Heavy Vehicle Safety Technologies Programs, that support testing and deployment of safety technologies for passenger vehicles, large trucks, and buses.
  • $11.8 million for Automated Driving Systems research to facilitate innovation and development of new tests, tools, and procedures to properly evaluate the safety of new technologies surrounding highly and fully automated vehicles.
• ​$27.5 million for the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) program to support establishment of the next phase of CAFE standards for light vehicles and maximum fuel efficiency standards for medium- and heavy-duty trucks.