Griffin: House Passes Bill to Invest in America's Infrastructure and Eliminate Government Waste

Press Release

Congressman Tim Griffin (AR-02) issued the following statement after the House passed the fiscal year (FY) 2015 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Act (H.R. 4745), which includes the bipartisan Griffin-led amendment to transfer funding from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) and provide resources for pipeline safety at no additional cost to taxpayers:

"This bill provides important funding to invest in our nation's infrastructure to grow jobs and maintain a safe and efficient transit system for Americans. It works to eliminate government waste and combat our nation's rising debt by funding only the most needed transportation and development projects, while also continuing programs to protect and aid those in need of housing assistance in our communities. Yesterday, the House passed my amendment to this bill, which eliminates needless bureaucracy at the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), allocates additional resources to maintain the safety of America's pipelines and continues to fund essential public transportation projects -- all at no additional cost to hardworking taxpayers."

PHMSA is the federal government's primary agency for regulating and ensuring the safe and secure movement of oil and petroleum products to industry and consumers through America's interstate pipelines.

Rep. Griffin's amendment is fully offset by cutting $500,000 from the $103 million provided in H.R. 4745 for Administrative Expenses at the Federal Transit Administration. FTA is an agency within the Department of Transportation (DOT) that provides technical and financial assistance to local public transit systems. The Administrative Expenses account is used to fund salaries and other administrative expenses at FTA, and not any grants or funding for local public transportation programs or projects. The House passed Rep. Griffin's amendment to H.R. 4745 by voice vote on June 9, 2014.

Last year, Rep. Griffin passed a similar amendment in the FY14 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Act, which later was incorporated into the 2014 Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R.3547) that passed the House on January 14 and was signed into law on January 17 of this year.

H.R. 4745 funds the Department of Transportation, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and other related agencies. This legislation provides $52 billion in discretionary funding, which is $1.2 billion above fiscal year 2014 and $7.8 billion below the President's budget request. "However, given the reduction in offsets caused by a decline in Federal Housing Administration receipts, the program level within the bill is more accurately $1.8 billion below the current level," according to the House Appropriations Committee.

Rep. Griffin also supported Rep. Tim Walberg's (R-MI) amendment to H.R. 4745 to prohibit the Department of Transportation from using any official funds to lobby state governments on motorcycle laws.

Information on H.R. 4745 (provided by the House Appropriations Committee):

Investing in key infrastructure:

- Provides $40.26B from the Highway Trust Fund for the Federal Highway Program--the same as the current level, contingent on enactment of new transportation authorization legislation

- Helps communities build, maintain, and keep safe their mass transit systems by providing $8.6B in formula grants, including $1.7B for competitive grants for major transit capital investments

- Keeps our airports and skies safe and efficient by fully funding air traffic control personnel, including 14,800 air traffic controllers and 7,300 safety inspectors

- Works to help ease future congestion and reduce delays for travelers by fully funding NextGen at $852.4M and funding Contract Towers at $140M

- Rejects the Obama Administration's proposals for new fees on passenger facilities and general aviation flights

Making responsible choices for deficit reduction:

- Reduces Housing and Urban Development funding by $767M below FY14 and $2B below the President's request

- Trims the Department of Transportation by $727.3M below FY14 and $5.8B below the President's request

- Cuts funding for TIGER grants by $500M from last year--more than $1.15B below the President's request

- Limits funding to only the most critical road, highway, and bridge projects--not non-essential purposes like street-scaping and bike/pedestrian paths

- No funds for high-speed rail or for new, unauthorized "sustainable" development programs

Helping those in need with housing and supporting communities:

Funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development includes:

- $26.3B for Public and Indian Housing--$6.2M above FY14--to continue serving all those currently covered under the program

- $75M for veterans' housing vouchers, the requested level

- $10.4B for other programs, enough to continue housing for all families currently served

- Contains $6.2B for Community Planning and Development, $383M below "14

- Holds the Community Development Block Grant Program at the same level as last year, $3B

Source