REP. MIKE THOMPSON, 41 MEMBERS SEND BIPARTISAN LETTER TO HOUSE-SENATE TRANSPORTATION CONFERENCE COMMITTEE SUPPORTING THE OFF-SYSTEM BRIDGE PROGRAM
Jun 14, 2012
Press Release
U.S. Representatives Mike Thompson (D-CA), Glenn ‘GT' Thompson (R-PA) and Lois Capps (D-CA) today sent a bipartisan letter to the House-Senate Transportation Conference Committee requesting that conferees adopt minimum funding levels for bridges not on Federal-aid highways under the final surface transportation reauthorization agreement.
“We have to make smart investments that keep our local bridges safe and open,” said Thompson. “These investments will help create jobs and they will make sure our counties and local governments have the resources they need to maintain our bridges.”
"Without a funding program for off-system bridges, maintenance, repair, and rehabilitation projects essential to the safety of the public will have to compete against all other transportation needs, including system expansion," said Efren Carrillo, Sonoma County Supervisor. "In Sonoma County, roughly 20 percent of our bridges are structurally deficient. Ensuring that there is a dedicated funding stream for off-system bridges will help Sonoma County to fund critically needed bridge projects."
Off-system bridges are bridges that are not on a Federal-aid highway but that are owned and operated by local governments. There are over 590,000 bridges in the United States, and more than 50% are off-system. Since 1978, the Highway Bridge Program (HBP) has required states to spend, or set aside, at least 15 percent of their annual apportioned bridge funding for off-system bridges.
While the Senate authorization, S. 1813, preserves the off-system bridge set-aside requirement, the House version, H.R. 4348 does not address the issue. The letter, which was signed by 42 Members of Congress and has the support of numerous state and local transportation groups, including the California State Association of Counties, the Regional Council of Rural Counties, and the League of California Cities, requests the members of the conference committee to retain the language included in S. 1813.
Additional supporters of off-system bridge program include the National Association of Counties, National League of Cities, National Conference of Mayors, National Association of County Engineers, American Public Works Association, National Association of Regional Councils, National Association of Development Officials and Transportation for America.
The full text of the letter is below.
Hon. John L. Mica Hon. Nick J. Rahall, II
Chairman Ranking Member
Committee on Transportation and Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure Infrastructure
2251 Rayburn House Office Building 2163 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515 Washington, DC 20515
Dear Chairwoman Boxer, Chairman Mica, and Ranking Members Inhofe and Rahall:
As you proceed with a House-Senate conference committee on the multi-year surface transportation reauthorization bill and to resolve differences between S. 1813 and H.R. 4348, we respectfully request that minimum funding levels for bridges not on Federal-aid highways is retained. Specifically, we request that the final conference report include Section 133(g) of S. 1813.
As you know, the Highway Bridge Program (HBP) requires states spend at least 15 percent of their annual apportioned bridge funding on bridges located on public roads rather than Federal-aid highways. This requirement, which has been in place since 1978, has allowed local governments to improve and replace locally-owned bridges considered to be “off-system”. More than 50% off the 590,000 bridges in the United States are off-system. Off-system bridges are found in every state.
Providing dedicated funding for off-system bridges has been critical to ensuring that these structures remain safe and open to all users. In a recent report on the HBP by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the agency found that “Improvements were most notable in bridges owned by local agencies and on rural routes, which may be attributable, in part, to the federal bridge program requirement—under HBP and some of its predecessor programs—that states spend a minimum amount of their apportionment on non-Federal-aid highway bridges.” (GAO-08-1127T)
Section 133(g) of S. 1813, approved as a bipartisan amendment during Senate consideration of the bill, would require each state to obligate for local bridge projects not less than 15 percent of the funds that were apportioned to it under the HBP in fiscal year 2009. Should state and local officials determine that the state has inadequate needs to justify the expenditure, the provision would allow the Transportation Secretary to rescind the requirement.
Without dedicated federal funding for off-system bridges, we are exceptionally concerned that bridge maintenance, repair, and capital projects will be unable to effectively compete against other capacity enhancement projects. In turn, the inability to adequately fund bridges - especially safety projects and long-term capital projects - would increase our country's large inventory of structurally deficient and functionally obsolete bridges. The practical implications of this would be to further expose motorists to deteriorating bridges while exacerbating other mobility and commerce-related challenges.
Thank you for your dedication and hard work aimed at securing a multi-year transportation bill. Again, we respectfully request that any final reauthorization package retain the bipartisan off-system bridge program as passed by the Senate and as supported by the National Association of Counties, the National League of Cities, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the American Public Works Association, the National Association of Development Organizations, the National Association of Regional Councils, and Transportation for America.
We thank you for your consideration and look forward to the timely resolution of the policy differences between S. 1813 and H.R. 4348.
Sincerely,
MIKE THOMPSON LOIS CAPPS GLENN ‘GT' THOMPSON
Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Congress
JOE BACA G.K. BUTTERFIELD
Member of Congress Member of Congress
DENNIS CARDOZA JIM COSTA
Member of Congress Member of Congress
MARK CRITZ JEFF DENHAM
Member of Congress Member of Congress
SEAN DUFFY JO ANN EMERSON
Member of Congress Member of Congress
ELIOT ENGEL ANNA ESHOO
Member of Congress Member of Congress
SAM FARR MIKE FITZPATRICK
Member of Congress Member of Congress
JOHN GARAMENDI WALLY HERGER
Member of Congress Member of Congress
MAZIE HIRONO TIM HOLDEN
Member of Congress Member of Congress
MIKE HONDA JESSE JACKSON, JR.
Member of Congress Member of Congress
BILL JOHNSON TIMOTHY JOHNSON
Member of Congress Member of Congress
WILLIAM KEATING BARBARA LEE
Member of Congress Member of Congress
JOHN LEWIS DAVE LOEBSACK
Member of Congress Member of Congress
ZOE LOFGREN BILLY LONG
Member of Congress Member of Congress
_______________________________________ _______________________________________
DORIS MATSUI JERRY MCNERNEY
Member of Congress Member of Congress
_______________________________________ _______________________________________
BILL OWENS LAURA RICHARDSON
Member of Congress Member of Congress
_______________________________________ _______________________________________
ADAM SCHIFF BOBBY SCHILLING
Member of Congress Member of Congress
_______________________________________ _______________________________________
ALLYSON SCHWARTZ STEVE STIVERS
Member of Congress Member of Congress
_______________________________________ _______________________________________
LOUISE SLAUGHTER JACKIE SPEIER
Member of Congress Member of Congress
_______________________________________ _______________________________________
PETE STARK PETER WELCH
Member of Congress Member of Congress
_______________________________________
LYNN WOOLSEY
Member of Congress
Congressman Mike Thompson is proud to represent California's 1st Congressional District, which includes the Counties of Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, Sonoma, Napa, and Yolo. He is a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Rep. Thompson is also a member of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition and sits on the bipartisan, bicameral Congressional Wine Caucus.
# # #
“We have to make smart investments that keep our local bridges safe and open,” said Thompson. “These investments will help create jobs and they will make sure our counties and local governments have the resources they need to maintain our bridges.”
"Without a funding program for off-system bridges, maintenance, repair, and rehabilitation projects essential to the safety of the public will have to compete against all other transportation needs, including system expansion," said Efren Carrillo, Sonoma County Supervisor. "In Sonoma County, roughly 20 percent of our bridges are structurally deficient. Ensuring that there is a dedicated funding stream for off-system bridges will help Sonoma County to fund critically needed bridge projects."
Off-system bridges are bridges that are not on a Federal-aid highway but that are owned and operated by local governments. There are over 590,000 bridges in the United States, and more than 50% are off-system. Since 1978, the Highway Bridge Program (HBP) has required states to spend, or set aside, at least 15 percent of their annual apportioned bridge funding for off-system bridges.
While the Senate authorization, S. 1813, preserves the off-system bridge set-aside requirement, the House version, H.R. 4348 does not address the issue. The letter, which was signed by 42 Members of Congress and has the support of numerous state and local transportation groups, including the California State Association of Counties, the Regional Council of Rural Counties, and the League of California Cities, requests the members of the conference committee to retain the language included in S. 1813.
Additional supporters of off-system bridge program include the National Association of Counties, National League of Cities, National Conference of Mayors, National Association of County Engineers, American Public Works Association, National Association of Regional Councils, National Association of Development Officials and Transportation for America.
The full text of the letter is below.
Thursday June 14, 2012
Hon. Barbara Boxer Hon. James M. Inhofe
Chairwoman Ranking Member
Committee on Environment and Committee on Environment and
Public Works Public Works
410 Dirksen Senate Office Building 456 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20510
Chairwoman Ranking Member
Committee on Environment and Committee on Environment and
Public Works Public Works
410 Dirksen Senate Office Building 456 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20510
Hon. John L. Mica Hon. Nick J. Rahall, II
Chairman Ranking Member
Committee on Transportation and Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure Infrastructure
2251 Rayburn House Office Building 2163 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515 Washington, DC 20515
Dear Chairwoman Boxer, Chairman Mica, and Ranking Members Inhofe and Rahall:
As you proceed with a House-Senate conference committee on the multi-year surface transportation reauthorization bill and to resolve differences between S. 1813 and H.R. 4348, we respectfully request that minimum funding levels for bridges not on Federal-aid highways is retained. Specifically, we request that the final conference report include Section 133(g) of S. 1813.
As you know, the Highway Bridge Program (HBP) requires states spend at least 15 percent of their annual apportioned bridge funding on bridges located on public roads rather than Federal-aid highways. This requirement, which has been in place since 1978, has allowed local governments to improve and replace locally-owned bridges considered to be “off-system”. More than 50% off the 590,000 bridges in the United States are off-system. Off-system bridges are found in every state.
Providing dedicated funding for off-system bridges has been critical to ensuring that these structures remain safe and open to all users. In a recent report on the HBP by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the agency found that “Improvements were most notable in bridges owned by local agencies and on rural routes, which may be attributable, in part, to the federal bridge program requirement—under HBP and some of its predecessor programs—that states spend a minimum amount of their apportionment on non-Federal-aid highway bridges.” (GAO-08-1127T)
Section 133(g) of S. 1813, approved as a bipartisan amendment during Senate consideration of the bill, would require each state to obligate for local bridge projects not less than 15 percent of the funds that were apportioned to it under the HBP in fiscal year 2009. Should state and local officials determine that the state has inadequate needs to justify the expenditure, the provision would allow the Transportation Secretary to rescind the requirement.
Without dedicated federal funding for off-system bridges, we are exceptionally concerned that bridge maintenance, repair, and capital projects will be unable to effectively compete against other capacity enhancement projects. In turn, the inability to adequately fund bridges - especially safety projects and long-term capital projects - would increase our country's large inventory of structurally deficient and functionally obsolete bridges. The practical implications of this would be to further expose motorists to deteriorating bridges while exacerbating other mobility and commerce-related challenges.
Thank you for your dedication and hard work aimed at securing a multi-year transportation bill. Again, we respectfully request that any final reauthorization package retain the bipartisan off-system bridge program as passed by the Senate and as supported by the National Association of Counties, the National League of Cities, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the American Public Works Association, the National Association of Development Organizations, the National Association of Regional Councils, and Transportation for America.
We thank you for your consideration and look forward to the timely resolution of the policy differences between S. 1813 and H.R. 4348.
Sincerely,
MIKE THOMPSON LOIS CAPPS GLENN ‘GT' THOMPSON
Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Congress
JOE BACA G.K. BUTTERFIELD
Member of Congress Member of Congress
DENNIS CARDOZA JIM COSTA
Member of Congress Member of Congress
MARK CRITZ JEFF DENHAM
Member of Congress Member of Congress
SEAN DUFFY JO ANN EMERSON
Member of Congress Member of Congress
ELIOT ENGEL ANNA ESHOO
Member of Congress Member of Congress
SAM FARR MIKE FITZPATRICK
Member of Congress Member of Congress
JOHN GARAMENDI WALLY HERGER
Member of Congress Member of Congress
MAZIE HIRONO TIM HOLDEN
Member of Congress Member of Congress
MIKE HONDA JESSE JACKSON, JR.
Member of Congress Member of Congress
BILL JOHNSON TIMOTHY JOHNSON
Member of Congress Member of Congress
WILLIAM KEATING BARBARA LEE
Member of Congress Member of Congress
JOHN LEWIS DAVE LOEBSACK
Member of Congress Member of Congress
ZOE LOFGREN BILLY LONG
Member of Congress Member of Congress
_______________________________________ _______________________________________
DORIS MATSUI JERRY MCNERNEY
Member of Congress Member of Congress
_______________________________________ _______________________________________
BILL OWENS LAURA RICHARDSON
Member of Congress Member of Congress
_______________________________________ _______________________________________
ADAM SCHIFF BOBBY SCHILLING
Member of Congress Member of Congress
_______________________________________ _______________________________________
ALLYSON SCHWARTZ STEVE STIVERS
Member of Congress Member of Congress
_______________________________________ _______________________________________
LOUISE SLAUGHTER JACKIE SPEIER
Member of Congress Member of Congress
_______________________________________ _______________________________________
PETE STARK PETER WELCH
Member of Congress Member of Congress
_______________________________________
LYNN WOOLSEY
Member of Congress
Congressman Mike Thompson is proud to represent California's 1st Congressional District, which includes the Counties of Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, Sonoma, Napa, and Yolo. He is a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Rep. Thompson is also a member of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition and sits on the bipartisan, bicameral Congressional Wine Caucus.
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