Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2015

Floor Speech

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Mr. Chairman, I want to join with Mr. Quigley, Ms. Duckworth, Ms. Waters, and other colleagues to call attention to the abysmally low funding contained in this bill for the TIGER program and to the need to increase and multiply this investment for the sake of our communities.

We have many concerns with this T-HUD bill before us, but I want to talk particularly about the TIGER program, otherwise known as the National Infrastructure Investments. It is a critical grant program which provides a unique opportunity for the Department of Transportation to invest in shovel-ready projects across transportation modes that promise to achieve critical national objectives, laying the groundwork for our future prosperity.

TIGER bridges critical gaps in formula funding programs to ensure that we are able to make investments in projects that are essential to both local and national goals. Each innovative project this program funds is multimodal, multijurisdictional and/or otherwise challenging to fund through existing transportation programs and funding streams.

Unfortunately, the bill before us would reduce the program's landmark flexibility by restricting the eligibility for TIGER to only road, bridge, freight, and port projects. Now, there is nothing wrong with these kinds of projects, but the downside of this restriction is that there is no room for funding that involves pedestrian crossings or bike lanes or recreational trails or planning activities or public transit or inner city passenger rail.

Many of us have benefited from having TIGER funding help a critical project in our districts. Let me just give one example, though, of a project that has gotten a lot of bipartisan praise, a project that would not have received funding if these eligibility restrictions had been in place. It is the Indianapolis Cultural Trail, which is a bicycle and pedestrian network that is one-third funded by TIGER. It is now touted as a draw to convention planners, as a central catalyst for hundreds of millions of dollars in new commercial and residential development, and it is the linchpin of a vibrant community. It simply could not have been funded if these restrictions which the majority has included in this bill had been in place. My district has been fortunate to receive TIGER funds to help build our multimodal Raleigh Union Station, but my community is not alone.

Over the last five funding rounds, TIGER has provided $3.5 billion for 270 critical infrastructure projects that have covered all 50 States, D.C., and Puerto Rico. That is just the tip of the iceberg. Previous TIGER funding rounds have shown significant latent demand for this type of Federal program. In TIGER rounds one through five, the U.S. DOT received more than 5,300 project proposals, seeking more than $115 billion, with between only 4 and 8 percent of grant applicants each year able to receive funding. In the current grant application round, the U.S. DOT has received nearly 800 applications, requesting $9.5 billion, with only $600 million to invest. That is a request of more than 15 times what can be awarded.

The bill before us would make the situation even worse. Next year, rather than doubling down on these essential transportation infrastructure investments as the President's budget request would do, the bill before us calls for dramatic funding decreases of over 80 percent to the TIGER program.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time House Republicans have tried to cut or eliminate TIGER funding. It is hard to escape the conclusion that this is another example of reflexive opposition to anything coming from the Obama administration, because this is, in fact, a model program in terms of stretching Federal dollars. TIGER programs have been catalysts that have leveraged Federal funds to secure further investment from the private sector and other sources. Each dollar invested through TIGER has leveraged 3.5 non-Federal dollars.

The projects that have received TIGER funding, along with those that are anxiously awaiting an award announcement, will help our local communities address transportation challenges, create good-paying jobs, spur local economic development, revive our city centers, and create regional integrated transportation solutions. We can do better than the bill before us today. Let's reexamine and restore the funding for these TIGER grants.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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