Testimony to the FMCB: Preparation for the Next Federal Stimulus & Infrastructure Bill
February 24, 2021
Prepared by Tom Ryan, SENIOR ADVISOR ON POLICY, GOVERNMENT & COMMUNITY AFFAIRS | February 22nd, 2021 | WATCH
When you reach the agenda item for the Capital Investment Plan update, A Better City is hoping the Board Members will ask “What are we doing to prepare for the next federal stimulus and infrastructure bill?”
If the MBTA and MassDOT can develop a focused effort on federal stimulus, we could maximize this opportunity and see action on a few transportation projects that today are currently unfunded.
The FMCB and MassDOT Board can show we have learned the key lessons from our last experience with federal stimulus when most of our federal transportation stimulus dollars mostly went towards road paving projects. Certainly, the ARRA bill had flaws, because of its focus on “shovel-ready” projects even though MA didn’t really have any shovel-ready projects. This year should be different.
Congress is on track to pass a major federal infrastructure bill by Sept/Oct 2021. So there are potentially nine months for the MBTA and MassDOT to get a head start on federal stimulus. This is the right amount of time to advance design on some transformational capital projects that are supported by The Regional Rail Vision study, The Commission on the Future of Transportation, and Focus 40.
By taking steps now, we can increase investment in our economy, put more people to work on these projects, and we could realize the long-term transportation benefits from completed rail and transit projects.
Let’s not be caught flat-footed in the fall, when the federal infrastructure bill passes Congress. Today, you should be asking the following questions:
- What are we doing to prepare for the next federal stimulus and infrastructure bill?
- What the top projects are not funded in the CIP that could be funded from federal stimulus?
- What do we need to do to get these projects ready?
We need an action plan and a task force that moves with urgency. It should start at this Board meeting and continue throughout the spring and summer. There is money at the MBTA right now from the CARES Act and the December federal transit aid, to support this effort and accelerate design work on key projects.
Thank you.
