TRANSPORTATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUNDS AVAILABILITY ACT

Congressman John Garamendi
Congressional Record: 116th Congress
Extensions of Remarks
11 June 2019

                          HON. JOHN GARAMENDI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 11, 2019

  Mr. GARAMENDI. Madam Speaker, today I am proud to introduce the 
``Transportation Emergency Relief Funds Availability Act'' to safeguard 
federal funding for disaster-recovery projects.
  I want to thank my colleagues from California's Congressional 
delegation for their support: Representatives Jared Huffman (D-CA2), 
Mike Thompson (D-CA5), Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA11), Barbara Lee (D-CA13), 
Jackie Speier (D-CA14), Eric Swalwell (D-CA15), Ro Khanna (D-CA17), 
Anna G. Eshoo (D-CA 18), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA 19), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA20), 
Salud O. Carbajal (D-CA24), Katie Hill (D-CA25), Julia Brownley (D-
CA26), Grace F. Napolitano (D-CA32), Norma J. Torres (D-CA35), Raul 
Ruiz (D-CA36), Gilbert Ray Cisneros, Jr. (D-CA39), Alan S. Lowenthal 
(D-CA47), Harley Rouda (D-CA48), and Scott H. Peters (D-CA52).
  Our legislation would prevent the Trump administration from targeting 
disaster-recovery funding for highway and transportation projects 
across our state. In January 31, 2019, the Federal Highway 
Administration denied the California Department of Transportation's 
(Caltrans) request for 1-year extensions for 66 out of 73 projects 
awarded ``emergency relief'' funding from the U.S. Department of 
Transportation. During previous administrations, such 1-year extensions 
were routinely granted under the Federal Highway Administration's and 
Federal Transit Administration's emergency relief programs.
  Californians are facing increasingly frequent and severe floods and 
wildfires due to climate change. They deserve nothing less than the 
full-throated support of their Federal Government, and that is exactly 
what our bill ensures.
  Current U.S. Department of Transportation regulations allow the 
Federal Government to claw back ``emergency relief'' funding for 
highway and public transit projects if those projects do not reach 
construction within 2 fiscal years. The ``Transportation Emergency 
Relief Funds Availability 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.
  I also want to thank Caltrans, the California State Association of 
Counties and the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services 
(CalOES) for their support of this critical legislation for our state.
  Madam Speaker, I hope that any surface transportation reauthorization 
bill this Congress will include the ``Transportation Emergency Relief 
Funds Availability Act. ``This is a major priority for California: the 
nation's most populous state and the fifth largest economy in the 
world. As a member of the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure, I am working with my fellow California colleagues to 
see this done.