Many Dispute Congressional Budget Office Report on Infrastructure Funding

Committee Modifies Language to Speed Spend Out The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office earlier this week released a report giving its assessment of the proposed economic stimulus legislation and projected that less than half of the funds are likely to be used before the end of fiscal year 2010. The CBO said the balance would likely be spent over the next several years, after the recession is projected to end. The report specifically questions how quickly the infrastructure funds will make their way into the economy. Republican leaders said the analysis shows that the package wouldn't create the promised jobs. AGC and coalition partners the Transportation Construction Coalition, Americans for Transportation Mobility and AASHTO responded to the report with a letter to Congress stating “This is not business as usual!” and pointing out that CBO’s analysis of the infrastructure spending is based on historical data which does not apply to the current situation. State DOTs, the construction industry, materials suppliers and labor are geared to move “ready to go” projects quickly to contract and construction and thus create thousands of jobs in this fiscal year. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and the leadership of the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee also responded by pointing out that CBO did not have the full data when they created the report. T&I Committee Chairman Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.) met with the CBO director, who admitted that they did not have the full data on which to base their projection. In addition, the Appropriations Committee moved to clarify a section that may have slowed the spending under the bill.