Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2019

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. HUFFMAN. Madam Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Chair, I thank Chairwoman Lowey for her work on this disaster supplemental, as well as her broader efforts to advance this disaster funding. It is unfortunate that our colleagues in the Senate have not yet acted to deliver disaster relief to communities across the country.

My amendment responds to the needs of communities who are rebuilding their highway infrastructure after disasters.

I am joined in these efforts by my colleagues, Harley Rouda and Norma Torres from California. I thank them for their support. And I would also like to thank the California State Association of Counties for their important work on this issue in support of this amendment.

We need to send a clear message to the Federal Highway Administration.

Congress expects FHWA to work with communities who are simply seeking reasonable extensions for the use of their emergency relief funding.

Under current policy, the FHWA requires that when a road or highway suffers serious damage, the State or local agency receiving Federal assistance must begin the construction project within 2 years of the disaster.

And we all agree that Federal money should get out the door as quickly as possible.

But this well-intended policy allows for extensions, if there are reasonable difficulties in moving toward construction.

Sometimes it just takes longer than expected to scope a project, to finalize all the permits. In other cases, the scale of the disaster itself means that counties simply don't have the capacity to move all their projects to construction within 2 years, even though they are moving as quickly as they can and doing everything right.

The problem is, in a recent decision, FHWA began denying a series of extension requests, including one in Humboldt County, in my district.

My amendment would pause FHWA's ability to deny these extensions moving forward. And I hope this amendment gives FHWA the opportunity to correct course and to get back to working with communities who are trying to rebuild as quickly as they can.

Communities across the country, especially those in California recovering from flood and fire, are now facing the possibility of paying back millions of dollars that they desperately need, adding insult to injury.

How widespread is this problem?

Well, State-wide in California, FHWA denied 66 out of 73 projects requesting an extension. So we need some help, and we need this amendment.

We need this amendment. This amendment will not address all of the problems caused by FHWA's extension denials, but it gives them an opportunity to reconsider their decisions and make things right.

As a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, I am committed to working with my colleagues to establish clear guidelines on how the FHWA should manage emergency relief funds going forward; but for now, I urge adoption of this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. HUFFMAN. Madam Chair, I thank the gentleman from North Carolina for his comments.

Madam Chair, the purpose of this supplemental appropriations bill is to help communities rebuild from disasters, and my amendment simply ensures that we give communities reasonable time to rebuild and recover.

We shouldn't be yanking the rug out from under them before they have gotten themselves back on their feet. For that reason, I urge adoption of this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source