Congress Moves to End Reconnecting Communities and Related Grants

The federal government could end all non-obligated funding for the Neighborhood Equity and Access program, amounting to over $3 billion in funds dedicated to highway removal and other infrastructure projects, reports Kea Wilson in Streetsblog USA. Yesterday, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee proposed the cuts, saying they would “reduce the deficit with recessions of wasteful Green New Deal style spending.”

Because projects funded by the initiative are massive long-term investments and the bulk of the funds have not been disbursed, as much as 94 percent of the program’s funding could be at risk, according to Transportation for America. “Meanwhile, a staggering 78 communities that were awarded those grants more than a year ago are still awaiting federal reimbursement, for which they would be left holding the bag if the cuts were to pass.”

The program, designed to complement the Reconnecting Communities initiative, received over 1,250 applications from communities across the country. That program could also be under threat, Wilson notes. “For now, some advocates say it's safe to assume that the open attack on the Neighborhood Access and Equity program signals that all federal money to reconnect communities is under threat — and it's time to call your representatives to ask them to defend projects in their districts.”