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