Full Appropriations Measure is Critical to Implementation of Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

Washington, DC –Today the leading organizations that represent state and local governments —The U.S. Conference of Mayors, National Governors Association, National Conference of State Legislatures, The Council of State Governments, International City/County Management Association, National Association of Counties, and National League of Cities—sent a letter to congressional leaders urging them to complete a full appropriations bill for fiscal year 2022. In the letter, the groups call for an end to governing by stopgap measures so that important state and local priorities can be fully funded. The letter notes that important economic recovery programs, including those in the bipartisan infrastructure bill, cannot be fully implemented without an updated spending bill. The groups write, in part:

On behalf of the nation’s state, territory, and local governments, we strongly urge Congress to swiftly pass appropriations for fiscal year 2022.

If lawmakers do not agree on dedicated FY 2022 funding, many programs, including those authorized by the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA/P.L. 117-58), will be constrained by last year’s levels. Many programs designed to bolster economic recovery and support critical state, territory, and local infrastructure projects will be unnecessarily delayed or severely hampered.

For example, without action from Congress, states, territories, local governments, and public transit agencies will be unable to access the IIJA’s roughly 20 percent funding increase for highway formula programs and more than 30 percent increase for public transit formula programs, along with any new transportation initiatives that Congress provided for in the IIJA. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Transportation has estimated that roughly $45 billion in competitive resources provided for in the first year of the IIJA will go unrealized should Congress fail to enact a federal spending law for FY 2022.

See here for the full letter.