Capital Partnerships
  A Nationally-Recognized Resource in Infrastructure Financing February 19, 2011  
 

Inside Transportation

 

From Capital Partnerships LLC

 

THE HOUSE TURNS ITS ATTENTION TO SURFACE TRANSPORTATION AND RAIL PROJECTS

  

This week the House of Representatives' Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure proposed extending the current surface transportation law through the fiscal year that ends in September. The House has struggled to write a new law for surface transportation, but the lengthy and complex process of drafting legislation with multiple subcommittee and the ensuing debates on the bill with the Senate have delayed the proposal of a new or rewritten bill, resulting in seven extensions of the SAFETEA-LU bill. Despite the difficulties, House Transportation Chairman John Mica (R., Fla) is eager to have a new bill drafted by the time the current extension expires in September.

In addition to the surface transportation extension, the House of Representatives held a hearing to debate the loan attainment procedure for the Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing Program (RRIF). Many lawmakers argue that the loan application process is unnecessarily complex and prohibitive; it has resulted in the disbursement of just over $1 billion in funding out of an available pool of $35 billion since 2002. Department of Transportation Secretary John Porcari testified to the House Railroad Subcommittee that he would continue to streamline the application process and assist applicants in their efforts to attain loans. Porcari concluded, "We will continue our outreach and educational efforts to the RRIF stakeholder community. We will redouble our efforts to assist rail industry organizations in helping their members identify how best to work within the program requirements, particularly those members that may not be accustomed to the requirements of public sector programs."

     
 
 

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