A controversy continues to simmer on Capitol Hill over a Federal Highway Administration guidance memorandum that encourages states to prioritize using Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act formula funds for road and bridge repair and rehabilitation projects over capacity expansions.
Thedocument, issued last Dec. 16 by Deputy FHWA Administrator Stephanie Pollack, was a major topic of discussion during a March 2 Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing whose stated subject was how the U.S. Dept. of Transportation is implementing its portion of the landmark IIJA.
该委员会对公路政策具有管辖权，并负责在IIJA中撰写主要的高速公路和桥梁规定。公路和桥梁在立法中各个基础设施部门中获得了最大的资金份额。
During the hearing, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (W.Va.), the panel's top Republican, strongly criticized the memo. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, the sole witness at the hearing, defended the document, with support from committee Chair Tom Carper (D-Del.). In his testimony, Buttigieg gave no indication that DOT is contemplating any change in the guidance memo.
不带联邦机构的指导文件the same legal weight as formal regulations But the FHWA guidance has sparked unusually strong interest.
The document states that it is intended to be "an overarching framework to prioritize the use of [IIJA] resources on projects that will Build a Better America."
它补充说，指导还确保实施IIJA资金，以至于法规允许“鼓励”国家投资于升级街道，高速公路和桥梁状况的项目，并确保所有用户安全，新利18备用网址同时对它们进行现代化现代化，以便所有用户都可以访问运输网络，为人们提供更好的选择，可容纳新的和新兴的技术，更可持续，更适合气候变化，并且更公平。”
Capito's Criticism
At the hearing, Capito said, “The memorandum seeks to restrict the flexibility of states and impose a one-size-fits-all solution to address the surface transportation needs of all communities.”
She added, “It discourages states from moving forward with projects that add highway capacity and instead prioritizes projects that improve existing surface transportation assets.”
Capito还表示，该备忘录“创造了赢家和输家”，这取决于根据《国家环境政策法》的审查水平。新利18备用网址
Buttigieg，Carper防御备忘录
Buttigieg told the EPW committee, “I want to make clear that we recognize and value the role of the states in deciding how to prioritize the use of formula dollars as laid out in the law.”
He added, “Different states and communities have different needs when it comes to transportation assets that have to be reconfigured and modernized, expanded and added or retired and replaced, as appropriate.”
Carper said that in working on the IIJA highway provisions, his goals included enhancing transportation systems' sustainability and resilience, improved safety and "addressing the backlog of repairs for roads and bridges in poor condition."
He added that he was pleased to see the Biden administration encourage—"notice I said 'encourage,' underline that 'encourage,' not 'require' "—states to use federal highway funds to prioritize these same goals.
Carper问Buttigieg该备忘录是否阻止各州选择为增加公路容量的公路项目使用公式资金，Buttigieg回答：“不，不是。”新利18备用网址
争议有一些历史。2月18日，Capito和其他28名共和党参议员wroteto Buttigieg asking that the memo be rescinded or substantially revised. Among the signatories was Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).
Updating IIJA Funding Rollout
At the hearing Buttigieg also provided a status report on DOT’s implementation of its sections of the IIJA. He said that over the previous 90 days, it had made $60 billion in authorized funds available to states and localities, and has opened the application process for an additional $2 billion in discretionary grants.
The $60 billion includes $52 billion in formula highway and bridge program funding apportioned to the states.
