Members of the California Congressional delegation banded together to introduce the Transportation Emergency Relief Funds Availability Act, a bill designed to defend federal funding for disaster-recovery transportation projects against cuts.
H.R. 3193 would repeal a two-year regulatory deadline and allow up to six years for transportation projects funded by an Emergency Relief Program to successfully begin construction. That six-year period would begin the day after a disaster declaration.
“I am proud to join other members of California’s Congressional delegation to stop the Trump Administration from targeting disaster-recovery funding for highway and transportation projects across our state,” U.S. Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA) said. “Californians are facing increasingly frequent and severe floods and wildfires due to climate change. They deserve nothing less than the full-throated support of their federal government, and that’s exactly what our bill ensures.”
The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has been cracking down hard on California under the Trump Administration. In January, they denied 66 of the 73 one-year extensions the California Department of Transportation requested — a break in the norm from previous administrations. They are allowed to do so under current law, which gives the USDOT authority to seize highway and public transportation project funds previously awarded if those projects do not begin construction within two years.