Donald M. Payne Jr. for Congressman: Pushes for Quicker Federal Funding of Gateway Program

Media Contact:  Patrick Wright   --  Patrick.Wright@mail.house.gov

Washington, D.C. — Rep. Donald M. Payne, Jr., Chairman of the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials for the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, wrote a letter to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg today to request that he publish a list of major infrastructure projects in the Northeast Corridor.  The list, called the Northeast Corridor Inventory, would identify which projects the Department considers to be the highest priority and makes them eligible for federal funding.  Rep. Payne, Jr. supports including the Gateway Program as one of those priorities to get federal funding this year.  Rep. Payne, Jr. has worked diligently to get federal funding for the Gateway Program throughout his time in Congress and the letter was co-signed by 34 additional Members of Congress.      

“The Gateway Program is the most important infrastructure project in the country and it needs federal funding immediately,” said Rep. Donald M. Payne, Jr.  “Once the inventory is published, we can take the steps necessary to apply for federal funding and, hopefully, start construction of the Hudson River Tunnel early next year.  The current tunnel is more than 110 years old and needs to be replaced.  Any type of delay or shut down could cost our economy $100 million in lost output and disrupt travel for 200,000 passengers daily.  Fortunately, Secretary Buttigieg and the Biden Administration are strong supporters of the Gateway Program and I look forward to working with them to get it built soon.”

In the letter, Rep. Payne, Jr. points out that the new Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, or Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, (IIJA) provides “a once-in-a-generation $66 billion investment in rail funding and additional $34 billion authorized for rail grant initiatives” and that this funding would “ensure fast, frequent, and reliable rail service” for thousands of commuters.  The publication of the NEC Inventory will allow those funds to be released for federal transportation projects.  

The full letter is below.

 

February 24, 2022

The Honorable Pete Buttigieg

Secretary

U.S. Department of Transportation

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE

Washington, DC 20590

Dear Secretary Buttigieg:

Thank you for your continued support of intercity passenger rail growth. We respectfully request that you publish a Northeast Corridor (NEC) Inventory to adhere to Section 22307(e)(1) of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). This would allow the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to expeditiously announce funding opportunities from the $7 billion available in FY 2022 funding for the Northeast Corridor set aside within the Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail grants.  

The IIJA provides a once-in-a-generation $66 billion investment in rail funding and additional $34 billion authorized for rail grant initiatives that are long-overdue. The region needs this essential investment in critical rail infrastructure as quickly as possible to ensure fast, frequent, and reliable rail service. It is our understanding that creating the NEC Inventory is holding up release of FY 2022 funds.

The Northeast Corridor Commission, which is comprised of representatives of DOT, in addition to representatives of the states, commuter rail agencies, Amtrak, and the freight railroads between Washington, DC and Boston, MA, has published no less than 15 capital investment plans and documentation of needed Northeast Corridor investments since 2013.  Each successive plan has both contributed to better coordination and stakeholder understanding of funding and operating roles and responsibilities along the Northeast Corridor.

We believe there are enough plans available for DOT to publish a NEC Inventory, well before the November 2022 deadline, with existing information.  This would allow DOT to announce support for critical NEC projects this summer.  The IIJA allows DOT to update the plan as needed.  The region is ready, and we need your support to move forward. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Donald M. Payne, Jr.

Member of Congress

Chairman, Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines,

  and Hazardous Materials

     Brian Fitzpatrick                                                                Mondaire Jones

     Member of Congress                                                        Member of Congress

                                             

     Bonnie Watson Coleman                                                  Nydia M. Velázquez

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     Anthony G. Brown                                                            Albio Sires

     Member of Congress                                                       Member of Congress

                                              

     John B. Larson                                                                 Carolyn B. Maloney

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     Joe Courtney                                                                     Josh Gottheimer                       

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     C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger                                                   Jim Himes

     Member of Congress                                                           Member of Congress

                                           

     Seth Moulton                                                                        Jahana Hayes

     Member of Congress                                                            Member of Congress

 

     Grace Meng                                                                         Tom Malinowski

     Member of Congress                                                           Member of Congress

                                                    

     Mikie Sherrill                                                                        Katherine Clark

     Member of Congress                                                           Member of Congress

 

     Stephen F. Lynch                                                                 William R. Keating                      

     Member of Congress                                                           Member of Congress

 

     Chrissy Houlahan                                                               Conor Lamb

     Member of Congress                                                           Member of Congress

                                            

     Lisa Blunt Rochester                                                           Eleanor Holmes Norton

     Member of Congress                                                           Member of Congress

 

     Richard E. Neal                                                                   Dwight Evans

     Member of Congress                                                           Member of Congress

                                                    

     David N. Cicilline                                                                Ayanna Pressley

     Member of Congress                                                          Member of Congress

     Frank Pallone, Jr.                                                                Lori Trahan               

    Member of Congress                                                           Member of Congress

     Sean Patrick Maloney                                                         Andy Kim

     Member of Congress                                                          Member of Congress

     Jamie Raskin                                                                       Jake Auchincloss

     Member of Congress                                                           Member of Congress

original source can be found here.