Representative Malinowski Introduces Legislation To Increase Transparency In Gateway Funding

Press Release

Today, Representative Malinowski introduced legislation that will increase transparency in the Capital Investment Grant (CIG) Program, the government's main source of grant funding for public transit programs like the Gateway Project. Congressmen Donald Payne Jr. (NJ-10) and Albio Sires (NJ-08) joined as original cosponsors of the legislation.

The bill would require the Department of Transportation (DOT) to create and maintain a website that accurately details the steps that projects must complete to receive funds from the CIG program. The website must reflect when each specific DOT office began their review of the project, to increase accountability for delays in receiving approval.

The bill requires that the same details be made publicly available for the National Environmental Policy Act review process. Currently, the Hudson Tunnel's Draft Environmental Impact Statement has been delayed without explanation for more than two years. Originally, the Department of Transportation claimed it would finish the review on March 30, 2018, but has refused to reveal any details on why the project hasn't been approved since then.

"This bill will make it harder for the Department of Transportation to politicize the approval process for projects like Gateway," said Congressman Malinowski. "This project has been languishing on the desk of Secretary Chao for too long, and the public deserves to know why."

"I proud to co-sponsor any legislation that promotes transparency in federal spending, particularly the grants concerning the Gateway Program," said Rep. Donald M. Payne, Jr. "The people who stand to benefit from these infrastructure projects deserve to have access to the current status of those projects and be informed of any unnecessary delay. With the technology we have available today, we need to be able to provide this information as soon as possible. I thank Rep. Malinowski for his leadership in introducing this bill."

"The Capital Investment Grants program helps finance critical infrastructure projects around the country. Many states are home to projects that are currently in the CIG pipeline and are undergoing extensive government review, including New Jersey's own Gateway Project. I am proud to cosponsor this bill to make the CIG program more transparent and bring clarity to projects like Gateway, which are extraordinarily important to our state and our region but has been delayed for unclear reasons," said Congressman Albio Sires.

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