Comments on: Congress’ Transport Impasse Hits States — and Not Just Their Road Funds http://la.streetsblog.org/2009/10/05/congress%e2%80%99-transport-impasse-hits-states-%e2%80%94-and-not-just-their-road-funds/ Covering Los Angeles's livable streets movement Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:06:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Dan Gentry http://la.streetsblog.org/2009/10/05/congress%e2%80%99-transport-impasse-hits-states-%e2%80%94-and-not-just-their-road-funds/comment-page-1/#comment-36921 Dan Gentry Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:45:03 +0000 http://la.streetsblog.org/?p=13661#comment-36921 From FHWA info on the final rescinded amounts, $474 million was rescinded from unobligated Transportation Enhancement funds under the $8.7B T-LU rescission. Don't blame the state DOTs though - Congress enacted a change in late 2007 that mandates that states rescind funds proportionally from each program category - including Enhancements. Before this, states had discretion about how much of their rescission amount would be taken from each category. However States now have very little discretion to alter the proportional reductions. From FHWA info on the final rescinded amounts, $474 million was rescinded from unobligated Transportation Enhancement funds under the $8.7B T-LU rescission. Don’t blame the state DOTs though – Congress enacted a change in late 2007 that mandates that states rescind funds proportionally from each program category – including Enhancements. Before this, states had discretion about how much of their rescission amount would be taken from each category. However States now have very little discretion to alter the proportional reductions.

]]> By: Steve Kirkikis http://la.streetsblog.org/2009/10/05/congress%e2%80%99-transport-impasse-hits-states-%e2%80%94-and-not-just-their-road-funds/comment-page-1/#comment-36861 Steve Kirkikis Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:42:06 +0000 http://la.streetsblog.org/?p=13661#comment-36861 As bad as it is for the states to lose $8.7 billion of unobligated federal-aid highway apportionments in one fiscal year, Congresses and Presidents since fiscal year 2003 -- prior to this $8.7 billion rescission -- have rescinded $16,206,242,500 of unobligated federal-aid highway apportionments, and regrettably, no one made any complaint about these rescissions until this latest rescission of $8.7 billion that became effective September 30, 2009. When all the rescissions are added since 2003, the states have lost $24,914,242,500 of unobligated federal-aid highway apportionments. The complaints about the rescissions should have started in 2003. I recommend that you publish a follow-up article stating that rescissions have taken place since 2003 and the states have lost a total of $24,914,242,000. Please note that these huge sums of unobligated apportionments have accumulated because obligation limitations always are a smaller sum than the sum for apportioned funds in any fiscal year; therefore, "unobligated apportionments" accumulated. If Presidents and Congresses had distributed sufficient obligation limitations to match the apportionments distributed every year; or, obligation limitations would not apply to apportionments, this problem of rescissions would never have occurred. Also, please note that this $8.7 billion that was rescinded September 30, 2009, and the $24.9 billion that has been rescinded since 2003, are not 'cash', but federal-aid highway funds that were authorized to be appropriated but never provided the obligation authority to be spent by the states. So, in the final analysis, the states did not 'lose' any federal-aid highway funds because these unobligated apportionments are just that: funds that were authorized but never appropriated. The documentation of these rescissions has been published in Federal Highway Administration Notices, as follows: RESCISSIONS FY 2003 -- FHWA Notice Classification Code: N4510.508 $ 250,000,000 FY 2004 -- FHWA Notice Classification Code: N4510.515 $ 207,000,000 FY 2005 -- FHWA Notice Classification Code: N4510.540 $ 1,261,277,000 FY 2006 -- FHWA Notice Classification Code: N4510.578 $ 1,999,999,000 FY 2006 -- FHWA Notice Classification Code: N4510.588 $ 1,143,000,000 FY 2006 -- FHWA Notice Classification Code: N4510.606 $ 702,362,500 FY 2007 -- FHWA Notice Classification Code: N4510.643 $ 3,471,582,000 FY 2007 -- FHWA Notice Classification Code: N4510.647 $ 871,022,000 FY 2008 -- FHWA Notice Classification Code: N4510.673 $ 3,150,000,000 FY 2009 -- FHWA Notice Classification Code: N5410.707 $ 3,150,000,000 FY 2009 -- FHWA Notice Classification Code: N4510.711 $ 8,708,000,000 TOTAL RESCISSIONS $24,914,242,000 As bad as it is for the states to lose $8.7 billion of unobligated federal-aid highway apportionments in one fiscal year, Congresses and Presidents since fiscal year 2003 — prior to this $8.7 billion rescission — have rescinded $16,206,242,500 of unobligated federal-aid highway apportionments, and regrettably, no one made any complaint about these rescissions until this latest rescission of $8.7 billion that became effective September 30, 2009.

When all the rescissions are added since 2003, the states have lost $24,914,242,500 of unobligated federal-aid highway apportionments.

The complaints about the rescissions should have started in 2003.

I recommend that you publish a follow-up article stating that rescissions have taken place since 2003 and the states have lost a total of $24,914,242,000.

Please note that these huge sums of unobligated apportionments have accumulated because obligation limitations always are a smaller sum than the sum for apportioned funds in any fiscal year; therefore, “unobligated apportionments” accumulated.

If Presidents and Congresses had distributed sufficient obligation limitations to match the apportionments distributed every year; or, obligation limitations would not apply to apportionments, this problem of rescissions would never have occurred.

Also, please note that this $8.7 billion that was rescinded September 30, 2009, and the $24.9 billion that has been rescinded since 2003, are not ‘cash’, but federal-aid highway funds that were authorized to be appropriated but never provided the obligation authority to be spent by the states.

So, in the final analysis, the states did not ‘lose’ any federal-aid highway funds because these unobligated apportionments are just that: funds that were authorized but never appropriated.

The documentation of these rescissions has been published in Federal Highway Administration Notices, as follows:
RESCISSIONS
FY 2003 — FHWA Notice Classification Code: N4510.508 $ 250,000,000
FY 2004 — FHWA Notice Classification Code: N4510.515 $ 207,000,000
FY 2005 — FHWA Notice Classification Code: N4510.540 $ 1,261,277,000
FY 2006 — FHWA Notice Classification Code: N4510.578 $ 1,999,999,000
FY 2006 — FHWA Notice Classification Code: N4510.588 $ 1,143,000,000
FY 2006 — FHWA Notice Classification Code: N4510.606 $ 702,362,500
FY 2007 — FHWA Notice Classification Code: N4510.643 $ 3,471,582,000
FY 2007 — FHWA Notice Classification Code: N4510.647 $ 871,022,000
FY 2008 — FHWA Notice Classification Code: N4510.673 $ 3,150,000,000
FY 2009 — FHWA Notice Classification Code: N5410.707 $ 3,150,000,000
FY 2009 — FHWA Notice Classification Code: N4510.711 $ 8,708,000,000
TOTAL RESCISSIONS $24,914,242,000

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