U.S. Reps. Rick Larsen (D-WA), House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure ranking member, and Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology ranking member, recently sent a letter to U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy urging the Trump administration to reinstate transportation research and development grants to University Transportation Centers (UTCs).
The Congressionally directed and funded UTC program funds university research with the goal of enhancing safety and efficiency of the U.S. transportation system and to develop the next generation of transportation officials. On May 2, the Transportation Department terminated seven UTCs’ grants. The terminations were done without consulting Congress, the universities or state departments of transportation.
“While the administration’s stated reason for cancelling these awards is their supposed ‘radical DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) and green agenda,’ it did not escape our notice that all seven UTC awards canceled were in majority Democratic communities,” the letter said. “Forty-two universities spanning over 15 states lost support for their partnerships on emerging transportation issues. Critically, these centers are all required to match federal funds at 100 percent to 50 percent, depending on the type of center. The department’s reckless decision to prematurely shut these programs down has endangered millions of dollars in private-sector and state agency funding.”