U.S. Rep. John L. Mica (R-Fla.), the Republican leader of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said the economic stimulus has fallen short in creating jobs, and called on Congress to cut red tape to speed up the lengthy infrastructure project process.
The Committee is holding a hearing to assess the impact of the stimulus on recovery, with a focus on the $48.1 billion to be administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
“Americans are hurting, the unemployment rate is nearing double digits and rising, and projects that can create jobs for people are being strangled by red tape,” said Mica. “A small percentage of the stimulus was devoted to infrastructure, and that money is not getting into our communities fast enough to help the 14.5 million Americans who are out of work. Bureaucratic delays are holding up projects.
“According to the Madison, Wis., Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, a road reconstruction project at the very top of their Recovery Act project list has been cut and will be delayed for an entire year because of ‘the piles of red tape required to get federal funding.’
“The Missouri DOT Director said the federal requirements to get Recovery Act projects completed have been taken to a new level, requiring additional staff dedicated to record keeping and auditing.
“Americans want jobs, not more red tape. Congress must do something to speed up the stimulus and get more people back to work in the short term, as well as improve the project process for the long term.
“The pending surface transportation reauthorization contains some provisions to speed up the project process, but we need to go further. I will continue to work with Chairman Oberstar to strengthen these provisions and cut the process time in half,” Mica said.
The $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 appropriated a total of $64.1 billion for infrastructure investment. Of the $48.1 billion administered by the U.S. DOT, $369 million has been paid out to states.
