TxDOT must return $742 million to federal government
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That has been a bone of contention for Texas officials from Washington, D.C., to Austin, who have for years complained about the state not getting a fair return on the gas tax dollars it collects and sends to the federal government. For the current rescission, Bass said, "The limited flexibility offered and sheer magnitude of it has translated into our ability to award contracts being reduced."
At the root of the problem - a provision in a federal highway funding bill that some lawmakers sought to eliminate was not acted on by the midnight Wednesday deadline in Congress, the end of the fiscal year. The provision called for a portion of unspent highway funds to be returned by the states. Because the provision was not eliminated, the rescissions were put in place.
So how big an impact could the loss of $742 million have on Texas highway projects? "It's a big deal," said TxDOT spokesman Mark Cross. Although $742 million may not seem a lot when talking about some multi-billion-dollar transportation projects, "Spread out over a lot of smaller projects - that's a lot of money," Cross said. "A lot of smaller projects will be affected. The state will definitely feel the impact."
The rescission of federal transportation funds is not new to Texas. TxDOT officials say that prior to the current rescissions, TxDOT had already been required to return approximately $1.2 billion to Washington.
Texas is not alone in having to return unobligated federal dollars as a result of the current rescissions. Colorado will return $115 million, Tennessee will lose $190 million and Illinois will return $289 million, just to name a few of the states.
State officials across the country affected by the rescissions are hopeful that Congress may take action later to restore the $8.708 billion in rescissions nationwide. It could possibly do so by passing a new transportation bill or filing a new bill that would give states the authority to spend the money cut by rescissions.
