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Rep. Payne, Jr. Pushes for Quicker Federal Funding of Gateway Program

February 24, 2022

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

Member of Congress Member of Congress

Anthony G. Brown Albio Sires

Member of Congress Member of Congress

John B. Larson Carolyn B. Maloney

Member of Congress Member of Congress

Joe Courtney Josh Gottheimer

Member of Congress Member of Congress

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

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