COLORADO LAWMAKERS URGE SWIFT ACTION TO AVOID CUTS TO HIGHWAY, BRIDGE FUNDS

September 23, 2009

CONTACT
Ben Marter (Markey)– 202-503-7888
Nathaniel Sillin (Coffman) – 202-225-7882
Leslie Oliver (Perlmutter)– 202-274-7944
Lara Cottingham (Polis) – 202-225-5693
Kristofer Eisenla (DeGette) – 202-225-4431
Eric Wortman (Salazar) – 202-225-4761

Members of Colorado’s Congressional delegation today sent a letter to the leaders of the House Transportation Committee, as well as to House Leadership, pushing for urgent consideration of legislation to avoid potentially devastating rescissions to state transportation funds.

Colorado’s federal lawmakers are urging House leaders to support the repeal of section 10212 (as amended) of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient, and Transportation Equity Act: a Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) to prevent a rescission of funds from state departments of transportation across the country.

“In recent years, the federal government has rescinded hundreds of millions of dollars in highway, bridge, and transit funds from Colorado’s Department of Transportation,” said Congresswoman Betsy Markey, a member of the House Transportation Committee. “Without swift action to correct this problem, Colorado stands to lose over $114 million from state coffers. We cannot overstate how important these funds are both for the safety of our roads and bridges, and for Colorado’s economic recovery.”

“We are very appreciative of the efforts made by Congresswoman Markey and the rest of Colorado’s Congressional delegation on behalf of transportation in Colorado,” said CDOT Executive Director Russell George. “This has been and continues to be our greatest concern as we approach the end of the current authorization bill known as SAFETEA-LU.”

Full text of the delegation letter:

The Honorable James Oberstar
Chairman
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

The Honorable Steny Hoyer
House Majority Leader

The Honorable John Mica
Ranking Member
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

The Honorable John Boehner
House Republican Leader

Dear Majority Leader Hoyer, Republican Leader Boehner, Chairman Oberstar, and Ranking Member Mica:

We are writing today to bring your attention to an urgent issue that poses a great risk to our state of Colorado. We urge you to include the repeal of section 10212 (as amended) of SAFETEA-LU in order to prevent a rescission that could affect real dollars from state departments of transportation.

Since FY 2005, Colorado has had to rescind $214 million in highway contract authority through the annual appropriations process. These repeals of contract authority have resulted in major impacts at both the state and Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) levels. Transportation programs in every state have been impacted, but those states receiving equity bonus funds, such as Colorado, have been further affected by the loss of a portion of obligation authority that is directly tied to the equity bonus funds. Similarly, MPOs across the country have lost planning funds, forcing most to cut staff and programs.

With only days remaining in the current five-year surface transportation authorization measure, most states have very few unobligated dollars remaining. This means an additional $8.7 billion rescission will result in substantial, real program cuts, not merely a reduction of unused dollars on the books. Provisions in section 1132 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which require that the states apply the rescission proportionately across all programs, will exacerbate the problem by further reducing state discretion to make reductions according to priorities. For Colorado the rescission of $114,683,752 is equivalent to 25% of the stimulus funding the Colorado Department of Transportation received for highways.

We respectfully ask your help in repealing section 10212, and we ask for your continued support to ensure that the Highway Trust Fund is fully funded.

Sincerely,

Betsy Markey
Member of Congress

Mike Coffman
Member of Congress

Ed Perlmutter
Member of Congress

Jared Polis
Member of Congress

Diana DeGette
Member of Congress

John Salazar
Member of Congress