Highway Funding Cuts Loom If Congress Fails to Act

Congress must take action to repeal an $8.7 billion rescission of federal highway funds set to hit the states on September 30. While for some states this will not have a direct effect, in many states the rescission will result in an actual cut in funding for highway construction projects. Congress included the $8.7 billion rescission in SAFETEA-LU as a way to make the total funding in the bill fit within federal budgeting parameters. At the time, the intent was to find other budget offsets to prevent the rescission from actually being implemented. However, Congress never took the necessary action. The impact on states will vary depending on the amount of unobligated budget authority each has on the books and in which highway funding categories. For more information, contact Brian Deery at (703) 837-5319 or deeryb@agc.org.