June 30, 2021

U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Representative,

You will soon be considering H.R. 3684, the Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation in America (INVEST in America) Act. On behalf of the more than one million members and supporters of the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW), I urge you to support the following amendments to H.R. 3684 in Divisions A-G.

Rep. Ted Budd’s (R-N.C.) amendment to codify a Trump Administration policy that does not consider DOT loans as part of the required local share for certain FTA grants.

Rep. Troy Nehls’ (R-Texas) amendment to strike Division D (rail title) of H.R. 3684.

Rep. Scott Perry’s (R-Pa.) amendment to strike section 1303, which establishes a clean corridors program to provide formula funding for EV charging and hydrogen fueling infrastructure.

Rep. Scott Perry’s (R-Pa.) amendment to prohibit the provision of loans for high-speed rail projects not in compliance with FRA tier III safety standards.

Rep. Scott Perry’s (R-Pa.) amendment to strike a carbon pollution reduction program and its apportionment.

Rep. Scott Perry’s (R-Pa.) amendment to prohibit the use of funds for Amtrak Network Expansion.

Rep. Scott Perry’s (R-Pa.) amendment to strike the Capital Investment Grant Program.

Reps. David McKinley (R-W. Va.) and Tim Walberg’s (R-Mich.) amendment to prohibit the Secretary of Transportation from issuing a rule or long-term order that would prohibit the transportation of captured carbon dioxide.

Rep. Ronny Jackson’s (R-Texas) amendment to strike section 9101 (Authorization of Appropriations) for H.R. 3684.

Rep. Beth Van Duyne’s (R-Texas) amendment to allow states flexibility to return funds for HOV facilities after 10 years of operations.

Rep. Bob Gibbs’s (R-Ohio) amendment to prohibit using transit funds for art, non-functional landscaping, and sculptures – or paying the cost of including an artist on the design team.  Allows excess transit funding to be directed toward improving our highway systems.

Rep. Thomas Tiffany’s (R-Wis.) amendment stipulating that no funds made available from the Highway Trust Fund may be expended for any purpose other than road and bridge construction.

I urge you to oppose the following amendments in Divisions A-G:

Reps. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Jim Costa (D-Calif.), Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.), Marilyn Strickland (D-Wash.), Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.), Joseph Morelle (D-N.Y.), Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), and Dina Titus’s (D-Nev.) amendment to increase PRIME program funding by $1 billion for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026, for a total increase of $5 billion.

Rep. David Cicilline’s (D-R.I.) amendment to increase annual funding for the National Scenic Byways Program by authorizing $39 million from the General Fund for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2026.

Rep. Nanette Barragán’s (D-Calif.) amendment to establish the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Program to provide grants to urban communities for the creation and renovation of urban parks.

Rep. Norma Torres’s (D-Calif.) amendment to raise authorization level of the Transportation Equity Research Program to $8,000,000 and gives DOT flexibility to conduct research.

Rep. Norma Torres’s (D-Calif.) amendment to raise authorization level of the Regional Infrastructure Accelerator Program and incentives improving air quality.

Rep. Norma Torres’s (D-Calif.) amendment to direct the Comptroller General to study units of federally-assisted housing to determine which have access to broadband and provide recommendations for an all-of-government approach to achieving one hundred percent broadband service.

Rep. Hank Johnson’s (D-Ga.) amendment to increase funding eligible for public transit operating expenses under the Carbon Pollution Reduction Program to 20 percent of eligible funding.

Rep. Sylvia Garcia’s (D-Texas) amendment to create a competitive grant program for qualified 2-year or 1-year higher education institutions which provide education and training for careers in the maritime industry.  Authorizes $200 million for the program.

Rep. Fernandez Leger’s (D-N.M.) amendment to permanently authorize the Historic Preservation Fund and increase its authorization of appropriations level.

Rep. Joe Neguse’s (D-Colo.) amendment to create a Community Resilience and Restoration Fund and competitive grant program at the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and authorizes $100 million per year for Fiscal Years 22-27 to the Fund.

Del. Stacey Plaskett’s (D-Virgin Islands) amendment to make territories of the United States eligible for the National Scenic Byways Program.

Rep. Debbie Dingell’s (D-Mich.) amendment to establish an independent non-profit, known as the Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator (Accelerator), authorized with federal funds as necessary over a six-year period.  The Accelerator would bolster and expand a robust clean energy workforce, invest in infrastructure projects, and help establish green banks nationwide.

I urge you to support the following amendments in Divisions H-I:

Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) and David McKinley’s (R-W.Va.) amendment to strike Division I and replace it with extensions of existing drinking water programs.

Rep. David McKinley’s (R -W.Va.) amendment to strike sections 13201 and 13205 of the bill to retain the cost-benefit requirement and small systems variance in the Safe Drinking Water Act.

Furthermore, I urge you to oppose the following amendments in Divisions H-I:

Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Jamaal Bowman’s (D-N.Y.) amendment to double the funding to replace and update lead water infrastructure in schools and childcare programs to $1 billion total (or $100 million per year).

Rep. Gwen Moore’s (D-Wis.) amendment to strengthen an existing water infrastructure workforce program to help ensure that low-income and very low-income individuals, including those with barriers to employment, are targeted to receive job training on careers in the water and wastewater sectors and increases the authorized funding level to $25 million annually.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s (D-Minn.) amendment to explicitly require reconnections for residential customers regardless of whether their entire debt is paid off.

Rep. Terri Sewell’s (D-Ala.) amendment to increase the Authorization of Appropriations for the Household Wastewater Grant Program to $100,000,000 a year for fiscal years FY2022 through FY2026.

Even with adopting or rejecting the foregoing amendments, H.R. 3684 would still provide $547 billion in surface infrastructure, including $5.7 billion in earmarks.  The bill recklessly spends scarce federal dollars and resources on projects that have proven to be wasteful and detrimental to taxpayers, including providing another $32 billion to Amtrak and bailing out the Highway Trust Fund without making much-needed reforms.  

All votes related to the INVEST Act may be among those considered for CCAGW’s 2021 Congressional Ratings.

Sincerely,

Tom Schatz 
President, CCAGW 

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