Introduction of the Transportation Emergency Relief Extension Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, today I am honored to introduce the ``Transportation Emergency Relief Extension Act'' to safeguard federal funding for disaster-recovery projects. I thank U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) and U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) for sponsoring the companion legislation and my colleague, Congressman Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) for cosponsoring the bill. I also want to thank the California Department of Transportation and the Texas Department of Transportation for their support of this critical legislation.

Americans across the country are facing increasingly frequent and severe floods and wildfires due to the climate crisis. When disasters strike, our communities deserve nothing less than the full support of their federal government. The ``Transportation Emergency Relief Extension Act'' will ensure state and local governments have adequate time to fully utilize federal funds awarded to repair roads and infrastructure damaged by disasters.

Current U.S. Department of Transportation regulations allow the federal government to claw back ``emergency relief'' funding for highway projects if those projects do not reach construction within 2 fiscal years. The ``Transportation Emergency Relief Extension Act'' would repeal this regulatory deadline and provide up to 6 years for projects awarded these funds to advance to construction. The new 6-year deadline would start following the date on which a disaster was declared by the respective state's governor or the president.

Mr. Speaker, I hope that any surface transportation reauthorization bill this Congress will include the ``Transportation Emergency Relief Extension Act.'' As a member of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, I am working with my fellow colleagues deliver this critical priority for our communities.

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