Bucshon Introduces the State Transportation Emergency Flexibility Act of 2011

Statement

Congressman Larry Bucshon (IN-08) introduced H.R. 3294 -- the State Transportation Emergency Flexibility (STEF) Act of 2011 on Tuesday, November 1, 2011. Congressman Bucshon is the only member of the Indiana Delegation that serves on the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

Congressman Bucshon (IN-08) states:

"This legislation is designed to provide flexibility to the states in response to a transportation and infrastructure emergency by eliminating government red tape regarding how states spend federal transportation dollars. We need to provide governors the ability to react quickly to their state specific emergencies with resources that should be already available.

We are thankful in Indiana to have a governor that has managed the state's finances well enough to handle emergency situations. Unfortunately, not every state across the nation has Governor Daniels at the helm and this legislation will allow them to react using federal transportation dollars on actual transportation emergencies rather than requesting more funding from the federal government or raising their state's gas tax to pay for the project. It's inexcusable that we have crumbling infrastructure nationwide and governors are forced, by inefficient and ineffective federal regulations, to use gas tax funds on projects unrelated to transportation needs. We need to better stewards of taxpayer dollars and allow states to use the gas tax for its intended purpose of improving infrastructure during an emergency."

Background:

The State Transportation Emergency Flexibility (STEF) Act will allow governor's to spend their federal transportation dollars more flexibly during a transportation emergency. Currently, there are millions of dollars allocated to each state that are reserved for non-transportation related projects, such as bike paths, beautifications projects, museum development and building sidewalks. The STEF Act would allow the governor to declare a transportation emergency to the Secretary of Transportation, only then would a governor be able to use all of the federal transportation dollars to fix the emergency. When there is an emergency, that has been caused by a flood, tornado, hurricane, or wear and tear on a road, states are unable to use federal money and are forced to spend state money, if they have it, or ask for additional funds from the federal government. This legislation will allow governors to be better stewards of taxpayer dollars and use the money they already receive for transportation related emergencies, rather than request additional funds. This legislation does not require any additional spending, nor will it add to the federal deficit.

Source