On Wednesday, Senator Alex Padilla along with Representatives John Garamendi (D-Walnut Grove) and Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale), led a letter to Secretary Pete Buttigieg urging the Department of Transportation (DOT) to provide flexibility to states like California in using relief funds for transportation repair projects on roads, bridges, trails, and transit systems in the aftermath of natural disasters. The letter was also signed by RCRC delegation Representatives Jimmy Panetta (D-Monterey), Jim Costa (D-Fresno), Jared Huffman (D-Marina), and Juan Vargas (D-San Diego). The letter outlines concerns about how DOT can “claw back” Emergency Relief program funding for highway and public transit projects if those projects do not initiate construction by the end of the second fiscal year following the year in which the disaster occurred.
