Transportation Infrastructure for Job Creation Act

Making supplemental appropriations for fiscal year 2017 for the TIGER Discretionary Grant program, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Transportation Infrastructure for Job Creation Act 2. Findings Congress finds the following: (1) Investments in infrastructure create jobs while fulfilling critical needs in communities throughout the United States. (2) According to the Brookings Institution, nearly 14.5 million workers—11 percent of the U.S. workforce—were employed in infrastructure jobs in 2013. (3) According to data from the Brookings Institution, infrastructure occupations often provide more competitive and equitable wages in comparison to all jobs nationally, consistently paying up to 30 percent more to low-income workers over the past decade. (4) The American Society of Civil Engineers gave the infrastructure of the United States an overall grade of D+ (5) The American Society of Civil Engineers assigned a D C+ D− (6) 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. (7) TIGER funds projects that will have a significant impact on the Nation, a metropolitan area, or a region. (8) 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. (9) TIGER received an appropriation of $600,000,000 in fiscal year 2014, an appropriation of $500,000,000 in fiscal year 2015, and an appropriation of $500,000,000 in fiscal year 2016. (10) 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. (11) Appropriating $7.5 billion in fiscal year 2017 for TIGER and allowing the funds to remain available for 6 years will enable the Secretary of Transportation to begin immediately to expand investments in transportation infrastucture throughout the United States. (12) 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. (13) 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. (14) An emergency supplemental appropriation of $7.5 billion for TIGER to be made available in fiscal year 2017 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 2017: Department of Transportation Office of the Secretary National Infrastructure Investments For an additional amount for National Infrastructure Investments Public Law 115–31 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: Transportation Infrastructure for Job Creation Act This bill provides $7.5 billion in supplemental FY2017 appropriations to the Department of Transportation to remain available through FY2022 for national infrastructure investments under a competitive grant program commonly known as the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program. The funding provided by this bill is designated as an emergency requirement pursuant to the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985. The emergency funding is exempt from discretionary spending limits and is only available if the President subsequently designates the amounts as an emergency and submits the designation to Congress. The bill also exempts the funding from sequestration. (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.)