Highways: States Oppose Looming $8.7-Billion Cut

State transportation officials are hoping Congress will cancel an $8.7-billion rescission of unobligated highway funds that is due to occur on Sept. 30. The Federal Highway Administration notified states on Aug. 25 how large a cut each would incur. California would lose the largest sum, $794 million.

In the 2005 Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: a Legacy for Users, Congress mandated the rescission to take effect on the measure’s last day, Sept. 30, as a way of trimming the legislation’s overall price tag.

Key Senate lawmakers already have indicated they support undoing the highway-fund reduction. But when Congress returns from its August break on Sept. 8, it will have only three weeks to act on the rescission.

Pam Hunter McFarland was a Senior Editor of ENR and her expertise was: Sourcebooks, Environment, Labor

Tom Ichniowski has been writing about the federal government as ENR’s Washington Bureau Chief since the George H.W. Bush administration, and he has covered at least five major highway bills. A recognized expert on government policy on infrastructure and regulation, Tom is also a Baltimore native and Orioles fan who grew up rooting for Brooks and Frank Robinson. He is a graduate of Columbia College and Columbia’s graduate school of journalism, where he once used “unrelentless” in a headline.

Post a comment to this article

Enhancing Collaboration and Surpassing Traditional Design-Build Methods with Progressive Design-Build

Earn: 1 PDH; 1 AIA LU/Elective; 0.1 IACET CEU

Progressive Design-Build is reshaping large infrastructure projects by addressing key issues with the traditional Design-Build approach. We'll explore how PDB fosters collaboration between owners, design-builders, and design teams to develop a well-defined scope and budget, plus minimizes cost overruns and reduces liability claims.