From Progressive Railroading Magazine; January 31, 2019
U.S. Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-N.J.) has introduced a bill that aims to make it easier for states to finance their share of infrastructure projects, such as the multibilliion-dollar Gateway program that calls for construction of new Amtrak tunnels under the Hudson River between New York and New Jersey.
The Transportation Funding Fairness Act of 2019 (TFFA) would allow states to attribute federal Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) and Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) loans to their share of jointly funded large-scale infrastructure projects. Currently, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) takes the position that those loans may not be counted as part of states’ share of infrastructure financing, according to a press release issued by Malinowski’s office.