Underwood Works to Prevent Loss of $7.6 Billion in Highway Funding for States

WASHINGTON—Following a letter by Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (IL-14) in which she called on Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to take immediate action to protect states, including Illinois, from a provision in the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act which would rescind $7.6 billion in highway funding, the House passed a Continuing Resolution that included a repeal of the FAST Act rescission. Without Congressional action, Illinois would have lost hundreds of millions in unobligated highway contract authority for transportation and infrastructure projects.

"The federal funding included in the FAST Act is essential to helping Illinois and states across the country prepare, plan, and execute long-term projects to make our highways and communities safer," said Rep. Underwood. "I'm pleased to see that the Continuing Resolution passed this week includes a provision to avert the loss of hundreds of millions in badly-needed federal resources for Illinois transportation projects."

In addition to Underwood, 108 other Members of Congress joined the bipartisan letter.

Full text of the letter can be found here and below.

November 14, 2019

Dear Speaker Pelosi and Leader McCarthy,

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.