A House Appropriations subpanel yesterday approved a $55.15 billion transportation and housing spending bill, though legislators expressed dismay that the funding levels were not as high as they wanted.

The bill -- which was approved by the House Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Subcommittee with a unanimous voice vote -- sets the transportation and housing level at $19.8 billion less than President Obama had requested and $217 million less than last year's level. However, it does offer a boost in funding for the Department of Transportation of roughly $3 billion compared to last year, including a $36 million boost for the Federal Railroad Administration and a $169 million increase for the Federal Transit Administration.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development, meanwhile, would see cuts of roughly $3 billion over last year, including the elimination of all funding for sustainable and green community development programs.

"With this bill, we were able to meet a number of priorities -- preserve the funding for every person and family currently receiving an assisted housing benefit; maintain our investments in aviation and other transportation and safety systems; continue community development programs; and improve the oversight and transparency of taxpayer dollars while setting priorities and reducing spending," said subcommittee Chairman Tom Latham (R-Iowa).

Latham, however, noted that the constraints of the highway trust fund, which could go insolvent in a matter of years, meant that the spending levels had to stay low. Latham had blasted the Obama administration for proposing a six-year, $556 billion bill that did not specify a new funding mechanism to supplement the federal gas tax.

Several amendments that would have raised spending levels -- including one from ranking member John Olver (D-Mass.) that would have frozen highway and transit spending to 2011 levels -- were rejected because of the lack of a funding source. Latham repeatedly told subcommittee members that it was up to the transportation authorization process to secure more funding and left the door open to adjust appropriations levels if more money was found.

The House and Senate are currently working on separate long-term reauthorization bills for the transportation program, which is set to expire Sept. 30.

The panel passed a number of minor amendments, including one requesting a report on how states transfer highway funds to transit projects, and another that would include fuel costs as a consideration in qualification for transit and bus grants.

However, funding restrictions put a hold on other amendments that would have boosted funding for rail and transit. Olver offered language that would freeze Amtrak spending at 2011 levels and protect state-funded services that would be stripped under the committee's bill. The amendment failed, but Latham left the door open for more negotiations on certain Amtrak provisions.

Under the bill, Amtrak would net $1.1 billion, although it also includes policy reforms for the agency including language that eliminates federal funding for routes where Amtrak offers more than a 50 percent discount on tickets. That essentially eliminates all state-funded service.

An amendment that would restore $1 billion of high-speed rail funding was defeated, as was a second one from Rep. Steve LaTourette (R-Ohio) that would have pressured the Transportation secretary to devote $1 million to high-speed rail from the secretary's account. The LaTourette amendment would have then given the secretary more authority to expand funding if more revenue became available.