Letter to Patty Murray, Chairman, and Susan Collins, Ranking Member, of the Transportation, HUD, and Related Agencies Subcommittee - Cuts to Transportation Infrastructure Program Will Hurt Jobs, Economy

Letter

The Honorable Patty Murray
Chair
Subcommittee on Transportation, HUD, and Related Agencies
Committee on Appropriations
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510

The Honorable Susan Collins
Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Transportation, HUD, and Related Agencies
Committee on Appropriations
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Chair Murray and Ranking Member Collins:

As you draft Fiscal Year 2015 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development appropriations legislation, I write to request that you continue to provide strong support for the Transportation Investments Generating Economic Return (TIGER) program. Robust funding in the Senate THUD appropriations bill for the successful TIGER program is particularly crucial given the drastic $500 million dollar cut that has been proposed by the House Committee on Appropriations for FY 2015.

As you know, Congress initially funded the TIGER program to meet the need for a flexible, multi-modal discretionary funding program that had long been identified by mayors, governors and leaders who are best positioned to understand local transportation needs and priorities. TIGER's broad eligibility, which encompasses port and freight rail projects that are not eligible for any other sources of federal funds, enables states and localities to implement critical projects that contribute to local economic prosperity while advancing national goals. Since 2009, USDOT has distributed more than $3.5 billion in TIGER grant funding for port, rail, transit, pedestrian, highway and bridge projects in all 50 states.

In New Hampshire, TIGER has provided vital resources to enable the replacement of the Memorial Bridge in Portsmouth and upgrades to infrastructure in the downtown district of the state capital in Concord. Despite the program's successful investments in New Hampshire and across the country, continued funding for TIGER remains critical to the completion of freight rail, bridge replacement and a wide range of other projects in my state that will help spur economic development.

America's transportation network is an important driver of both quality of life and national economic competitiveness, and TIGER bridges critical gaps in formula funding programs to ensure that we are able to make investments in projects that are essential to both local and national goals. Thank you for your leadership and support for the TIGER program.

Sincerely,

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