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Letter to the Hon. Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, and the Hon. Kevin McCarthy, Republican Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives - Sarbanes Fights to Protect Federal Funding for Maryland Transportation and Infrastructure Projects

Letter

By: Carol Miller, David McKinley, Gwen Moore, Ron Kind, Mark Pocan, Pramila Jayapal, Derek Kilmer, Rick Larsen, Peter Welch, Jennifer Wexton, Brian Babin, Colin Allred, Eddie Johnson, Henry Cuellar, Sheila Jackson Lee, Veronica Escobar, Vicente Gonzalez, Al Green, Lizzie Fletcher, Ron Wright, Steve Cohen, John Rose, Phil Roe, Jim Langevin, David Cicilline, Conor Lamb, GT Thompson, Jr., Madeleine Dean, Brian Fitzpatrick, Earl Blumenauer, Suzanne Bonamici, Tim Ryan, Troy Balderson, Brian Higgins, Joe Morelle, John Katko, Anthony Brindisi, Elise Stefanik, Antonio Delgado, Sean Maloney, Adriano Espaillat, Jerry Nadler, Kathleen Rice, Thomas Suozzi, Pete King, Dina Titus, Xochitl Torres Small, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Mikie Sherrill, Don Payne, Jr., Bill Pascrell, Jr., Albio Sires, Tom Malinowski, Annie Kuster, Chris Pappas, Kelly Armstrong, David Rouzer, David Price, Angie Craig, Haley Stevens, David Trone, Stephen Lynch, Lori Trahan, Jim McGovern, Garret Graves, Roger Marshall, Greg Pence, Jim Baird, Pete Visclosky, Cheri Bustos, Lauren Underwood, Mike Quigley, Chuy Garcia, Dan Lipinski, Cindy Axne, Abby Finkenauer, Ed Case, Lucy McBath, Hank Johnson, Jr., Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, Jahana Hayes, Rosa DeLauro, Joe Courtney, John Larson, Joe Neguse, Susan Davis, Harley Rouda, Lou Correa, Mark Takano, Gil Cisneros, Raul Ruiz, Ted Lieu, Grace Napolitano, Tony Cárdenas, Julia Brownley, Salud Carbajal, T.J. Cox, Eric Swalwell, Jackie Speier, Mark DeSaulnier, Doris Matsui, John Garamendi, Jared Huffman, Greg Stanton, Rick Crawford, Donald Young, John Sarbanes
Date: Nov. 15, 2019
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Transportation Government Budget and Spending

As the first session of the 116th Congress is nearing its end, we will likely be finalizing several important pieces of legislation that will be signed into law. We write to respectfully request that we address the upcoming rescission of $7.6 billion from the last highway bill in one of those bills.

Section 1438 of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act would rescind $7.6 billion in unobligated federal-aid highway contract authority on July 1, 2020. This provision was included as a budget offset in the last highway bill, although some have characterized it as gimmick, the real-world impacts on states' budgets are drastic.

According to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, states have approximately $7.9 billion in unobligated contract authority. This rescission will remove nearly all of this authority. Across the board, states will lose precious dollars needed for investment in infrastructure projects. In fact, California will see their contract authority reduced by $280 million and Texas will lose $960 million in contract authority. Every state will lose millions in contract authority, with 37 states losing over $50 million.

States have already started planning for the next construction season next summer. This provision must be addressed soon to ensure that states have enough time to plan for the coming year without disruption. Every one of these dollars represent vital jobs and needed investment in our economy and the movement of goods. These investments will be threatened if we do not act.

We stand ready to work with you to ensure that Congress takes the urgent action that these impending cuts demand.


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