TIGER Grants for Job Creation Act

Making supplemental appropriations for fiscal year 2016 for the TIGER Discretionary Grant program, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the TIGER Grants for Job Creation Act 2. Findings Congress finds the following: (1) The economy is still struggling to recover from the recession. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate is 5.4 percent nationwide and is significantly higher in some minority and disadvantaged communities. (2) The American Society of Civil Engineers gave the public infrastructure of the United States a grade of “D+” in 2013 and estimated that we will need to invest $3.6 trillion by 2020 in order to improve the condition of our Nation’s public infrastructure. (3) TIGER, formally known as the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grant program, is a nationwide competitive grant program that creates jobs by funding investments in transportation infrastructure by States, local governments, and transit agencies. (4) TIGER funds projects that will have a significant impact on the Nation, a metropolitan area, or a region. (5) In distributing grants under TIGER, the Secretary of Transportation is required to ensure an equitable geographic distribution of funds, a balance in addressing the needs of urban and rural areas, and investments in a variety of modes of transportation. (6) TIGER received an appropriation of $600,000,000 in fiscal year 2014 and an appropriation of $500,000,000 in fiscal year 2015. (7) Past appropriations for TIGER are not sufficient to address the need for investments in transportation infrastructure in communities throughout the United States as the amounts only fund a small fraction of the transportation infrastructure projects for which TIGER grant applications have been received. (8) The President requested an appropriation of $1.25 billion for TIGER in fiscal year 2016, as part of an expanded TIGER program that will provide $7.5 billion for TIGER over 6 years. (9) Appropriating $7.5 billion in fiscal year 2016 for TIGER and allowing the funds to remain available for 6 years will enable the Secretary of Transportation to begin immediately to implement the President’s proposal to expand the TIGER program. (10) Restricting appropriations for TIGER through the use of arbitrary budget caps or sequestration undermines economic recovery and job creation efforts; disrupts planning by States, local governments, and transit agencies; and leaves critical infrastructure needs unmet. (11) Emergency supplemental appropriations for TIGER, provided in addition to other appropriations and not subject to sequestration, will improve transportation infrastructure and create jobs throughout the United States without reducing funding for other domestic priorities. (12) An emergency supplemental appropriation of $7.5 billion for TIGER to be made available in fiscal year 2016 and to remain available for 6 years will allow the Secretary of Transportation to begin immediately to organize new competitions for TIGER grants and allow States, local governments, and transit agencies to prepare grant applications, thus ensuring an efficient use of funds and timely job creation. 3. Supplemental appropriations for TIGER discretionary grant program The following sums are appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for fiscal year 2016: Department of Transportation Office of the Secretary National Infrastructure Investments For an additional amount for National Infrastructure Investments Public Law 113–235 Provided 4. Exemption from sequestration The appropriation in section 3 shall be exempt from sequestration under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.

Summary: TIGER Grants for Job Creation Act This bill provides $7.5 billion in supplemental FY2016 appropriations to the Department of Transportation for National Infrastructure Investments under a competitive grant program known as the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program. The bill permits the funds to remain available through FY2021. The funding provided by this bill is designated as an emergency requirement pursuant to the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985. Emergency spending is exempt from limits on discretionary spending and other budget enforcement rules. The funding is only available if the President subsequently designates the amount as an emergency and submits the designation to Congress. The funding is also exempt from sequestration under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985. Sequestration is a process of automatic, usually across-the-board spending reductions under which budgetary resources are permanently cancelled to enforce specific budget policy goals.