An effort to drum up support for struggling state Departments of Transportation has gained extensive support across the transportation industry.
U.S. Reps. Conor Lamb (D-PA) and Bob Gibbs (R-OH) issued a challenge to their colleagues to join them in asking House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) in providing immediate funding of state DOTs in the next proposed stimulus package.
State DOTs are projected to lose 30 percent of their revenues for the remainder of 2020 and into 2021 because of the efforts to stem the spread of COVID-19, making funding of critical transportation programs like roadways improvements and public transportation more difficult, the two said in their letter.
The Congressmen asked their colleagues to support a letter they’ve written to Pelosi and McCarthy that asks for $49.95 billion in funding for state DOTS.
“Because of revenue already lost, several states have already begun halting planned projects as we enter the summer construction season. We believe it is our responsibility to provide an immediate infusion to state DOTs,” the letter to their colleagues said. “We urge you to join us in the attached letter to Speaker Pelosi and Leader McCarthy, encouraging support for state DOTs in the next package of relief legislation. This aid will help critical infrastructure projects move forward, while also keeping other critical state DOT functions operational.”
The letter to Pelosi and McCarthy has received support from groups like the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, the National Conference of State Legislatures, the International Union of Operating Engineers, the American Highway Users Alliance, and the AFL-CIO, among more than 130 others.
The Congressmen gave their colleagues until the end of the day on May 8 to sign their letter.
“Providing state DOTs with an immediate relief with immediate infusion of $49.95 billion in federal funding separate from any additional State and Local relief is not unlike action taken in prior COVID-19 response bills, which provided federal funding for other transportation modes facing reductions in revenue due to decreased travel,” the Congressmen’s letter to Pelosi and McCarthy said. “Supporting state DOTs now will enable the advancement of planned transportation projects in the near-term and allow state DOT employees and transportation construction workers essential to planning and delivering these projects to remain on the job.”