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Senators and reps respond to locals’ pleas, introduce bill to steer more money to local transportation needs

Yesterday afternoon, a bipartisan group of senators and representatives released a bill that will give local communities more access to, and control over, a share of the federal transportation dollars that flow into their states. 

The Innovation in Surface Transportation Act was introduced yesterday in the House and Senate (H.R. 1393 and S.762) by Senators Wicker (R-MS), Booker (D-NJ), Casey (D-PA) and Murkowski (R-AK); and Representatives Rodney Davis (R-IL), Dina Titus (D-NV) Gregg Harper, (R-MS), Cheri Bustos (D-IL), Dan Lipinski (D-IL) and Matt Cartwright (D-PA).

Send a clear message that this idea has strong support across the country. Tell your representatives to support the Innovation in Surface Transportation Act in the House and Senate.

Want to know more about how this new grant program would work? Do you have a few questions? Read this explainer post on the Innovation in Surface Transportation Act that gives a quick overview of the mechanics of the policy and how it would be implemented. Have other questions? Get in touch with us.

Mayors and other local elected leaders are the ones who face the music from citizens when bridges need repair, when mounting congestion makes commutes unpredictable, and when families can’t safely walk their kids to school — yet those same leaders are too often left out of the discussions over what gets built and where.

The ten members of Congress sponsoring this bill represent areas large and small, urban and rural, red and blue. But small town or big city, these congressmen and women are responding to what they’re hearing from the local mayors and county officials back at home. Here’s Senator and original sponsor Roger Wicker two weeks ago during a hearing with U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx:

I can tell you, Mr. Secretary, that when county governments come to see me, when city officials come to see me, they are excited about this concept of a program to dedicate a portion of federal funding…to create a small pool of competitive grant funds to be awarded on a merit basis available to mayors, county officials, and local leaders. 

These grants would be awarded through a transparent process by a panel of representatives from local and state jurisdictions, ensuring that funds go to well-conceived projects with strong local support and potential for high return on investment.

With a program like this, many more communities could find success like Normal, IL, found with its Uptown Station. Normal used a grant from the competitive TIGER program to complete the funding picture for a multimodal station and central plaza that brought new life and economic activity to its town’s core. But the TIGER program is wildly oversubscribed, as one of the only ways local communities can directly access federal funds.

More communities need chances like that, and the current method of doling out federal funds just isn’t cutting it. Let’s put more resources and control in the hands of local communities and let the best projects win.

These ten congressional leaders got the message — but we need to ensure the rest of their colleagues do. Send a letter to your Senators and Representative in support of the Innovation in Surface Transportation Act.

Bill to unlock billions for local transportation grants now live in House and Senate

With last week’s introduction of the Senate version of the Innovation in Surface Transportation Act, a bill that would create a new program of grants for local transportation needs, it’s time to send unified messages of support to the House and the Senate together in support of this bipartisan, bicameral proposal.

As we shared with you last week, in one of their last acts before leaving for campaign season, five Senators introduced a bipartisan bill Thursday to give local communities more access to, and control over, a share of the federal transportation dollars that flow to their state. The bill, led by Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Roger Wicker (R-MS), would help ensure that those who know their communities’ needs best will be making decisions on how transportation dollars should be spent.

Support has been rolling in from mayors and other local leaders, but now that this bill is live in the House and the Senate, it’s critical that they hear that this idea has strong local support.

Even if you’ve already sent a message to one chamber, take just a minute to send a joint message to the House and the Senate today on this bill — it’s critical they hear from us on this.

Want to know more about this bill and how the new program would work? Start here: The details on a new bill giving locals greater access to their federal dollars.

Representative Dina Titus announces bill promoting greater local control at Las Vegas event

At a press conference Monday in Las Vegas, Rep. Dina Titus introduced her constituents to her bipartisan bill to give local communities across the country greater access to federal transportation funds.

The Innovation in Surface Transportation Act (HR 4726) would set aside a share of each state’s federal dollars for competitive grants that will provide local communities greater access to federal transportation funds that they can invest in innovative projects to help boost local economies.

“It’s about local governments, local entities, business, bicycle groups – everybody coming to the table to decide where the dollars should go,” Representative Titus said at the press conference.

At yesterday’s event, Titus stressed that this bill doesn’t require new money — rather, it just helps existing funds get down to the cities, towns and suburbs where most people live and where constituents can hold local officials accountable for how it is spent to ensure their economies thrive.

“It’s intended to empower state stakeholders who are impacted by state transportation investment decisions, but who aren’t at the table right now,” Rep. Titus said.

The legislation is also sponsored by Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL), who held a similar event last month in Normal, IL.

Local officials Kristin McMillan, president and CEO of the Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce, Clark County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani, and Las Vegas Councilman Steve Ross all endorsed the proposal and attended the event.

As we’ve said before, competition is one way to ensure that money gets spent on the best projects possible — an appealing prospect for many local leaders.

“Another feature I like of competitive grants is that it levels the playing field for midsized urban areas who often lose funding opportunities to their bigger siblings in a state because DOTs just look at population as a starting point to allocated funds and not project innovation and worthiness,” said Lee Gibson, CEO of the Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County, which is the metropolitan planning organization (MPO) for Reno, NV.

Reps. Davis and Titus have crafted a bill to help the local leaders and organizations who know the most about their communities decide where a small portion of transportation money should be spent — answering one of the most consistent requests we hear from our coalition of local elected leaders, businesses, and chambers of commerce across the country.

“As a former mayor who speaks frequently with local leaders around the country, I can say with confidence that they are more than willing to compete and be held accountable for results, but they need access to resources to meet their communities’ needs,” said Mayor John Robert Smith, chair of Transportation for America and former Mayor of Meridian, Mississippi. “This bill would take a major step toward restoring funding for local needs that was greatly restricted in the 2012 transportation bill, MAP-21,” Mayor Smith said. “Rep. Davis’s and Rep. Titus’s measure will ensure that those closest to the heart-beat of a community have access and opportunity to make decisions on how transportation dollars should be spent, while promoting innovation and efficiency.”

Members of Congress are hearing from their constituents about this bill, and we expect legislators from both parties to jump on board soon and co-sponsor this important piece of legislation.

Send a letter to your Congressman and join our call for action.

Read more coverage of the press conference. 

The details on a new bill giving locals greater access to their federal dollars

Updated 3/18/15: This bill was reintroduced in the 114th Congress on 3/17/15 in both the House and the Senate with new bill numbers, H.R. 1393 and S.762. It is identical to the version released in 2014 detailed below and this post still serves as an explainer for what the new bill would do. -Ed.

Last week we reported on the introduction of an important bill to expand local access to federal transportation dollars, the Innovation in Surface Transportation Act. Today we want to provide a little more detail about how the proposed new grant program would work.

First, a reminder of the need: Local leaders are the ones who feel the heat when crumbling infrastructure stalls traffic, when workers can’t connect to jobs, streets are unsafe or goods get stuck in congestion. But they lack the access to federal funds that could help them fix those problems and boost their economies, and they have little say in how their state’s federal allocation gets spent.

That’s gotten worse in recent years, not better. When Congress adopted the current federal program, MAP-21, in 2012, it was touted as providing more “local control”. But while states did get more latitude, local communities actually lost access, to the point that only a fraction of the available dollars flow to the cities, towns and suburbs in the metro areas where 85 percent of us live.

The Innovation in Surface Transportation Act would make good on the promise of local control by reserving a small share of transportation dollars in each state to make grants for local projects. (In the 114th Congress, the bill was introduced on 3/17/15 by Senators Wicker (R-MS), Booker (D-NJ), Casey (D-PA) and Murkowski (R-AK) in the Senate, and Representatives Rodney Davis (R-IL), Dina Titus (D-NV) Gregg Harper, (R-MS), Cheri Bustos (D-IL), Dan Lipinski (D-IL) and Matt Cartwright (D-PA) in the House. See updated bill numbers in first paragraph above. -Ed.)

Q: How would projects be selected?

Grants would be awarded based on the strength of the proposal: Will the project result in the highest return on investment? Does it improve safety and reliability? Does the community have their own funds committed to the plan?

Projects would be selected by a statewide jury of local “peers” – other stakeholders who also understand local needs – in collaboration with state DOT representatives. This is critical, because while it ensures DOT involvement, it also makes sure the vision for state progress belongs not just to the bureaucracy but includes regional and local planning organizations, stakeholders from local chambers of commerce, the active transportation community, transit agencies, air quality boards, ports and others.

While each state can tailor their program to suit their needs, the bill outlines a range of selection criteria that should be considered, including improving safety and reliability for all users, promoting multimodal connectivity, improving access to jobs and opportunity, strengthening the overall return on investment, and contributing to a more efficient national multimodal freight network, to name just a few.

Q: Why competitive grants rather than doling out specific amounts to every community by formula?

For one, when projects compete against each other, the sponsoring communities work harder to develop better projects and stretch to make the most of every dollar. And that’s where the “innovation” from the act’s title comes in: Such projects are more likely to solve multiple problems at once and prompt the creation of new partnerships among public and private actors. The innovative, cost-effective and economically important projects will rise to the top, and applicants will learn to sharpen their thinking, planning and inclusiveness around transportation.

Q: What about the handful of states already providing local access to their federal dollars?

H.R. 4726 would allow states that already hold statewide competitions or allocate a majority of federal highway funds to metropolitan or local communities to certify out of the program altogether. If a state is already doing a good job directing money to the best local projects, their efforts would be recognized and rewarded. Additionally, along these same lines, any funds that are currently directed — competitively or otherwise — to metropolitan or local communities would be exempt from inclusion in the new program. These provisions ensure that the bill doesn’t negatively impact states currently providing local control, or require them to re-create the wheel.

For example, read about existing grant programs in Oregon and Pennsylvania.

As we travel the country meeting with local elected, business and civic leaders, we see community after community developing exciting, forward-looking plans to squeeze efficiencies out of road networks expected to move cars, pedestrians, transit riders, bicycles and freight. We hear about unmet repair needs with little help in sight. We see economic opportunities seized upon, or by-passed, based on the ability to invest in a high-quality transportation network.

For them and their constituents, this proposal is the most hopeful sign to come out D.C. in a long time. It could use a lot more co-sponsors to show just how important it is. Urge your representatives to sign on as a cosponsor today by clicking here and sending them a message.

Did you already send your letters and ask your representatives to cosponsor? Then help spread the word! Use the links to share on Twitter and Facebook below, OR, cut and paste the message in the box to send a message to your friends via email.

Shouldn’t the level of government closest to the people have more control over how transportation dollars get spent in their local communities? And shouldn’t they have more access to federal transportation funds?

I think so, and I asked my representatives to cosponsor this bipartisan bill that would give local communities more access to federal transportation funds that they can invest in homegrown transportation plans and projects, and more control over how those dollars get spent.

Will you join me and send a letter? It only takes a moment.

http://action.smartgrowthamerica.org/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=19843

 

Finally, a bill to give locals more access to their federal transportation dollars

Normal, Illinois' Uptown Station project represents what can happen when the local leaders behind an ambitious vision are able gain access to the resources needed to bring that vision to life.

Normal, Illinois’ Uptown Station project represents what can happen when the local leaders behind an ambitious vision are able gain access to the resources needed to bring that vision to life.

Most taxpayers would agree that the level of government closest to the people should have more control over how transportation dollars get spent in their local communities.  Yet local cities, towns and counties control less than 15 percent of all federal transportation dollars.  

If you think that needs to change, then stop what you’re doing and ask your representatives to cosponsor this critical, bipartisan bill. It would give local communities more access to federal transportation funds that they can invest in homegrown transportation plans and projects that they control.

(You can read more in-depth about Representative Davis’ bill on our blog here or check out the Congress.gov page for H.R. 4726 here.)

Local leaders are the ones who feel the heat when crumbling infrastructure stalls traffic, when workers can’t connect to jobs, streets are unsafe or goods get stuck in congestion. But they lack the access to federal funds that could help them fix those problems and boost their economies, and they have little say in how their state’s federal allocation gets spent.

We have a golden opportunity to change that. 

Thanks to the leadership of a bipartisan group of Representatives and Senators, this terrific proposal would set aside a small portion of each state’s federal allotment to create a grant program especially for local communities. The grants would be awarded on merit by a panel with representatives from state and local jurisdictions, ensuring that funds go to well-conceived projects with the most local support.

This program would make a tremendous impact by requiring that more transportation dollars flow to communities — a great way to make good on Congress’s promise of more local control in MAP-21, the current transportation law.

The grants could fund a wide variety of surface transportation projects — such as bridge repair or improvement, highway projects, freight movement, bike and pedestrian safety and transit, to name a few.

This bill represents one of the best opportunities we’ve had in some time to ensure that more transportation dollars get down to where they’re needed most, to be spent on the very best projects that communities need.

Please, send a letter to your representatives and urge them to support this important bill.

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Did you already send your letters? Then help spread the word! Use the links to share on Twitter and Facebook below, OR, cut and paste the message in the box to send a message to your friends via email.

 Shouldn’t the level of government closest to the people have more control over how transportation dollars get spent in their local communities? And shouldn’t they have more access to federal transportation funds?

I think so, and I asked my representatives to cosponsor this bipartisan bill that would give local communities more access to federal transportation funds that they can invest in homegrown transportation plans and projects, and more control over how those dollars get spent.

Will you join me and send a letter? It only takes a moment.

http://action.smartgrowthamerica.org/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=18521

New bill would give local communities greater access to federal transportation funds

A bill introduced yesterday would give local communities across the country greater access to federal transportation funds to invest in their homegrown transportation plans and projects — answering one of the most consistent requests we hear from our coalition of local leaders and officials across the country.

Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL)

Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL), speaking at a briefing on Capitol Hill in February, introduced the new Innovation in Surface Transportation Act with Rep. Dina Titus this week.

The Innovation in Surface Transportation Act (HR 4726), introduced yesterday in the House of Representatives by Reps. Rodney Davis (R-IL) and Dina Titus (D-NV), would provide improved decision-making, responsibility and greater access to federal transportation funds for local communities. It would carve out dollars within each state for competitive grants to be awarded to local communities by a diverse selection panel that includes representatives from the state DOT and local jurisdictions.

A constant refrain from the many local elected and business officials we’ve met with over the last few years is that they have little to no access to funds, or, no seats at the decision-making table. This bill would fix exactly that while also spurring innovation, collaboration and efficiency through competition. Awarding funds through a panel of stakeholders and DOT experts will help steer investment toward projects with the greatest bang for the buck.

“Competition spurs innovation that formula funds never ever will,” as T4’s Beth Osborne wrote about this type of competition in the Atlantic Cities a few weeks ago. “Competition generates incredible excitement and a desire to outdo your neighbor. As a result, federal dollars are made to go farther, more non-federal funds are brought in from both public and private sources, and every penny is targeted to accomplish multiple goals.”

We know that the civic leaders in communities across the country are more than willing to compete and be held accountable for the results of their investments, but they currently just don’t get enough access to the funds they need to meet their communities’ needs. This bill would require that some of the money flow down to communities — a great way to make good on Congress’s promise of more local control in MAP-21.

Eligible projects for the in-state grant competition would include all projects currently appropriate for the Surface Transportation Program — such as bridge repair or improvement, highway projects, freight movement, bike and pedestrian safety and transit, to name a few.

This proposal — along with its Senate companion discussed last week by Senators Booker and Wicker — would take a major step toward bringing funds down to the local level to ensure that the people who know the needs of their community best will help decide how transportation dollars should be spent.

We’ll have much more on the details of this program next week, so stay tuned.

Urge your Rep and your Senators to cosponsor this bill today. Send them a message today.

Reps. Rodney Davis and Dina Titus step up to meet burgeoning demand for more local transportation funding

Photo courtesy of Town of Normal

Yesterday, Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL) announced a new bill to give local communities across the country greater access to federal transportation funds for innovative projects via a new in-state competitive grant program.

Photo courtesy of Town of Normal

Rep. Davis announces his new bill in Normal’s Uptown Station on May 14, 2014, flanked by Mayor Chris Koos and Transportation for America Illinois field organizer Erin Evenhouse. Photo courtesy of Town of Normal.

At a press conference yesterday inside Uptown Station in Normal, Illinois, alongside the Town of Normal Mayor Chris Koos, Rep. Davis introduced the Innovation in Surface Transportation Act.

The bipartisan bill, to be introduced by Reps. Davis (R-IL) and Dina Titus (D-NV) in the House of Representatives next week, would create a new in-state competitive grant program that would allow local entities (cities, towns, etc.) to have greater access to federal transportation funds they can invest in innovative projects to help boost local economies.

The bill would create a statewide program of competitive grants for local communities, overseen by a diverse selection panel that includes the state DOT and local jurisdictions.

“The Innovation in Surface Transportation Act is a commonsense, bipartisan bill to give local entities a stronger voice when it comes to funding local projects,” said Rep. Davis. “Additionally, this bill recognizes our nation’s fiscal realities by giving preference to projects that strengthen the return on investment, encouraging public-private partnerships and increasing transparency so that every federal dollar spent goes a little bit further.”

Transportation for America applauds Reps. Davis and Titus for their leadership in crafting this bill that would make a dramatic difference by giving towns and cities and counties more access to the transportation funds they desperately seek for important local projects.

“As a former mayor who speaks frequently with local leaders around the country, I can say with confidence that they are more than willing to compete and be held accountable for results, but they need access to resources to meet their communities’ needs,” said Mayor John Robert Smith, chair of Transportation for America and former Mayor of Meridian, Mississippi. “This bill would take a major step toward restoring funding for local needs that was greatly restricted in the 2012 transportation bill, MAP-21. Rep. Davis’s and Rep. Titus’s measure will ensure that those closest to the heart-beat of a community will be making decisions on how transportation dollars should be spent, while promoting innovation and efficiency,” said Mayor Smith.

The location of yesterday’s announcement was no coincidence. Normal’s Uptown Station is a terrific example of what can happen when a local community can competitively access federal transportation funds to make an ambitious plan a reality. (Read our longer profile of Normal’s “can-do” story here.) A competitive federal grant was the final piece in the puzzle for Normal to rebuild their downtown multimodal transportation center and rebuild the infrastructure of their city’s core.

The new Children's Museum and roundabout in the center of Uptown Normal, Illinois. Photo courtesy of Scott Shigley

The new Children’s Museum and roundabout in the center of Uptown Normal, Illinois. Photo courtesy of Scott Shigley

Normal Mayor Chris Koos talked about how important it is for local communities like Normal to have the ability to invest in homegrown transportation projects to signal to the private sector that they have a committed partner. “The private sector was clearly not willing to make significant investment in Uptown Normal until it was evident that the public sector was committed to making a big investment of its own,” said Mayor Koos.

The more than $80 million invested by the Town of Normal into Uptown has sparked more than $140 million in private investment. That’s exactly the kind of spark that we hope Rep. Davis’ bill will provide to communities like Normal all across the country.

“An in-state grant program builds on the idea of competitive grants to spur innovation and allow communities of all sizes to build connections that provide better opportunities for local businesses and residents to prosper,” concluded Mayor Koos.

Photo courtesy of Town of Normal

Rep. Rodney Davis (left) and Mayor Chris Koos shake hands at yesterday’s event in Normal, Illinois. Photo courtesy of Town of Normal

Rep. Davis heard this message from local officials like Mayor Koos all over Illinois, and responded by crafting a bill that could help give them exactly what they need to succeed. That’s the kind of leadership we need more of on Capitol Hill.

We will have much more detail on this bill in the days to come, but we want to congratulate Reps. Davis and Titus for leading the way and we hope to help them succeed in their efforts in Congress.

Photo courtesy of Town of Normal

 

Urge your Rep and your Senators to cosponsor this bill today. Send them a message today.