Payne, Jr. Pushes for Quicker Federal Funding of Gateway Program
Payne, Jr. Pushes for Quicker Federal Funding of Gateway Program
Washington, D.C. — Rep. Donald M. Payne, Jr., Chairman of the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials for the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, wrote a letter to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg today to request that he publish a list of major infrastructure projects in the Northeast Corridor. The list, called the Northeast Corridor Inventory, would identify which projects the Department considers to be the highest priority and makes them eligible for federal funding. Rep. Payne, Jr. supports including the Gateway Program as one of those priorities to get federal funding this year. Rep. Payne, Jr. has worked diligently to get federal funding for the Gateway Program throughout his time in Congress and the letter was co-signed by 34 additional Members of Congress.
“The Gateway Program is the most important infrastructure project in the country and it needs federal funding immediately,” said Rep. Donald M. Payne, Jr. “Once the inventory is published, we can take the steps necessary to apply for federal funding and, hopefully, start construction of the Hudson River Tunnel early next year. The current tunnel is more than 110 years old and needs to be replaced. Any type of delay or shut down could cost our economy $100 million in lost output and disrupt travel for 200,000 passengers daily. Fortunately, Secretary Buttigieg and the Biden Administration are strong supporters of the Gateway Program and I look forward to working with them to get it built soon.”
In the letter, Rep. Payne, Jr. points out that the new Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, or Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, (IIJA) provides “a once-in-a-generation $66 billion investment in rail funding and additional $34 billion authorized for rail grant initiatives” and that this funding would “ensure fast, frequent, and reliable rail service” for thousands of commuters. The publication of the NEC Inventory will allow those funds to be released for federal transportation projects.
The full letter is below.
February 24, 2022
The Honorable Pete Buttigieg
Secretary
U.S. Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590
Dear Secretary Buttigieg:
Thank you for your continued support of intercity passenger rail growth. We respectfully request that you publish a Northeast Corridor (NEC) Inventory to adhere to Section 22307(e)(1) of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). This would allow the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to expeditiously announce funding opportunities from the $7 billion available in FY 2022 funding for the Northeast Corridor set aside within the Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail grants.
The IIJA provides a once-in-a-generation $66 billion investment in rail funding and additional $34 billion authorized for rail grant initiatives that are long-overdue. The region needs this essential investment in critical rail infrastructure as quickly as possible to ensure fast, frequent, and reliable rail service. It is our understanding that creating the NEC Inventory is holding up release of FY 2022 funds.
The Northeast Corridor Commission, which is comprised of representatives of DOT, in addition to representatives of the states, commuter rail agencies, Amtrak, and the freight railroads between Washington, DC and Boston, MA, has published no less than 15 capital investment plans and documentation of needed Northeast Corridor investments since 2013. Each successive plan has both contributed to better coordination and stakeholder understanding of funding and operating roles and responsibilities along the Northeast Corridor.
We believe there are enough plans available for DOT to publish a NEC Inventory, well before the November 2022 deadline, with existing information. This would allow DOT to announce support for critical NEC projects this summer. The IIJA allows DOT to update the plan as needed. The region is ready, and we need your support to move forward. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
M
Donald M. Payne, Jr.
Member of Congress
Chairman, Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines,
and Hazardous Materials
Brian Fitzpatrick Mondaire Jones
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Bonnie Watson Coleman Nydia M. Velázquez
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Anthony G. Brown Albio Sires
Member of Congress Member of Congress
John B. Larson Carolyn B. Maloney
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Joe Courtney Josh Gottheimer
Member of Congress Member of Congress
C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger Jim Himes
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Seth Moulton Jahana Hayes
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Grace Meng Tom Malinowski
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Mikie Sherrill Katherine Clark
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Stephen F. Lynch William R. Keating
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Chrissy Houlahan Conor Lamb
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Lisa Blunt Rochester Eleanor Holmes Norton
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Richard E. Neal Dwight Evans
Member of Congress Member of Congress
David N. Cicilline Ayanna Pressley
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Frank Pallone, Jr. Lori Trahan
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Sean Patrick Maloney Andy Kim
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Jamie Raskin Jake Auchincloss
Member of Congress Member of Congress
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