Federal Highway Funding Measure Introduced In The House
Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL) recently introduced the “Highway Relief Act,” which would allow the Secretary of Transportation to fund up to 100 percent of federally-funded highway projects in Fiscal Years (FY) 2021 and 2022, while waiving the state and local share of those projects.
In a statement, Rep. Davis said, “The COVID-19 pandemic has put great financial strain on state government budgets, including state departments of transportation. My legislation will protect and create new construction jobs and provide a much-needed cash infusion to ensure state highway projects continue as planned. This is just one of many ways the federal government can assist state DOTs.”
Rep. Davis says that the COVID-19 pandemic continues to negatively impact state transportation budgets due to less motor fuel tax revenue and when state revenues are down, the state’s ability to make their state match to federally funded projects could be jeopardized.
To help state transportation revenue, Rep. Davis argues that his bill would provide the U.S. Secretary of Transportation discretionary authority to increase the federal cost share for federal-aid highway projects to 100 percent, for FY 2021 and 2022.
Rep. Davis is working to include his bill in the pending COVID-19 relief stimulus bill.
