Washington, D.C.—Ranking Member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Rick Larsen (D-WA), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and 40 T&I, Banking Committee and other affected Democrats wrote to Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Acting Deputy Administrator Matthew Cahill and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Administrator Russell Vought demanding they stop delaying the advancement of public transportation projects funded by the Capital Investment Grants (CIG) program. Currently, FTA has access to more than $1.9 billion in unobligated and unallocated funds ready to be spent; however, the Trump administration continues to hold up significant projects instead of spending its infrastructure dollars.
“We have watched for months as the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) have stonewalled the progress of worthy transit projects while President Trump and Department of Transportation Secretary Duffy are proclaiming a commitment to a 'golden age of transportation,'” the members wrote.
“The growing backlog of projects in limbo due to FTA and OMB inaction is unacceptable,” the members continued. “We are very concerned that delaying the CIG project pipeline, while advancing only the Utah project, is potentially rooted in partisan political considerations, which could further violate statutory requirements,”
“Every $1 invested in transit generates $5 in long-term economic value. Conversely, failing to deliver on long-promised transit investment carries serious economic consequences,” the members continued.
“Should this egregious trend continue,” the members noted, “11 projects in 10 states…that anticipate signing a CIG grant agreement this year could be subjected to senseless delay.”
The members concluded by reminding the administrators of the historically bipartisan nature of CIG-funded projects and demanded that their agencies immediately advance the stalled projects—regardless of a state’s 2024 election results.
You can read the full letter HERE.
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