Transportation Reauthorization

America’s highway, mass transit, and surface transportation policies are governed by multi-year authorization bills passed by Congress and signed into law by the president. The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure is currently crafting new surface transportation legislation to replace P.L. 109-59, The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), which expires on September 30, 2009. The new five-year authorization legislation would set transportation policy, as well as the funding formulas used to allocate transportation dollars to the states and local communities.

Under the current law, the U.S. Department of Transportation, states, metropolitan planning organizations, and public transit agencies are responsible for the vast majority of surface transportation investment decisions. Although the current federal-state-local partnership has served highway and transit systems well, not all communities are treated equally in the decision- making process.

To complement the work done by these agencies, and to ensure that all communities are full partners in these important programs, a small percentage of the overall investments in the authorization will be available for Members of Congress to designate as High Priority Projects (HPP). As a result, Members of Congress have the opportunity to provide the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee with a list of projects that they believe would result in tangible transportation and safety benefits in their districts. Each of these projects must meet all eligibility criteria under Title 23 (Highways) or Chapter 53 of Title 49 (Public Transit) of the US Code to ensure compliance with the highway and transit program objectives.

I have worked hard to fight for the needs of north central Indiana. Parts of my efforts include advocating for transportation projects that will benefit our economy, improve safety, and protect our environment. In doing so, my staff and I closely scrutinize every transportation request that my office receives to ensure that it is a responsible use of taxpayer dollars. The congressional approval process is competitive; I do not submit all the requests I receive, and not every project I submit for approval is ultimately funded. My goal is to identify and support, to the best of my ability, those projects that would benefit north central Indiana.

Click for Transportation Reauthorization High Priority Project Requests