In a November 30 letter, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials urged Congressional leadership to provide “as much supplemental general fund revenue as possible” to support the Federal aid highway and transit formula grants and programs as part of full fiscal year 2021 appropriations packages now being negotiated.
“We extend our gratitude for the full-year extension of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act through FY 2021, along with the $13.6 billion general fund transfer to the federal Highway Trust Fund,” AASHTO said in its letter. “This provides much needed stability for our state DOT members as we all aim to get the long-term bill across the finish line by October 1, 2021.”
Congress extended the FAST Act as part of a continuing resolution or CR that funded federal government programs starting on October 1 – the beginning of fiscal year 2021 – through December 11.
Now, as the expiration date for the current CR draws near, AASHTO requested that additional federal funds be added to surface transportation outlays to “ensure a predictable, equitable, and nationwide distribution” of critical federal transportation infrastructure dollars – especially crucial due to the severe transportation impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We remain grateful for this previous support and we again ask that you, at a minimum, maintain the upper levels of general fund support from these last four fiscal years by providing the Federal-aid highway formula program with $3.25 billion above the FAST Act funding levels, along with $834 million for transit formula grants,” AASHTO said.
You can read the full letter here.
