Despite the statements made by the Department of Transport and subsequent commitments to streamlining and efficiency, “politicized review requirements may slow down grant obligations for awarded projects, particularly for projects relating to safety,” Corrigan Salerno wrote in the Post on Transport in America.
As Salerno explains, “Transportation projects require passing multiple stages of political and environmental review to reach the construction phase, which is particularly complicated when they receive federal support in the form of competitive grants. Under the competitive grant award, the awardee and the federal government are working together to work with USDOT to enter into grant agreements and mandate awards.”
Currently, some projects previously granted grants are reviving fundraising, with reviews leading to a 1/10 distribution rate for the Biden administration. Secretary Duffy has promoted the process of “approval” for expedited grants, but that approval is not comparable to “awarded and mandated” funding.
Transportation analyzed funding obligations under several federal grant programs: safe roads and roads for all grants, salary increases/build programs, smart grants, reconnected community pilots, and neighborhood access and equity programs. The Biden administration mandated $141.7 million a month, while the Trump administration mandated $46.6 million a month. “The Trump administration requires funding for a competitive grant program at 33% of the Biden administration’s speed.”
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