Press Releases
Larsen Puts Forward TIGER CUBS Act so Small Cities Get Fair Share of Job-Creating Transportation Dollars
Washington, DC,
August 1, 2013
Small- and medium-sized cities will get a fair share of federal transportation dollars under a bill introduced by Rep. Rick Larsen, WA-02, today. The Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery for Cities Underfunded Because of Size (TIGER CUBS) Act of 2013 would set aside 20 percent of special transportation infrastructure funding specifically for smaller cities. “TIGER grants are a great way to create jobs by investing in our roads, bridges and highways. But smaller cities don’t have the resources to compete for these grants with the New Yorks and San Franciscos of the country,” Larsen said. “The TIGER CUBS Act will make sure that cities like Mountlake Terrace, Mukilteo and Sedro-Woolley have a fair shot at these critical transportation dollars.” Congress established the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Discretionary Grant program in 2009 as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. About a quarter of TIGER funding has been set aside for rural communities, with the bulk of the remainder going to large cities and statewide projects. Larsen’s TIGER CUBS Act would reauthorize the TIGER program and set aside 20 percent of the funding for cities with populations between 10,000 and 50,000 people. Larsen’s legislation drew praise from Mountlake Terrace Mayor Jerry Smith, who said the legislation would help cities like Mountlake Terrace meet their economic development goals. “The City of Mountlake Terrace supports updating the current TIGER rules to provide new infrastructure funding tools for small- and medium-sized cities,” Smith said. “We strongly support the TIGER-CUBS bill and applaud Rep. Larsen for his innovative approach to meeting the infrastructure and economic development needs of smaller cities. I urge Congress to pass the Larsen legislation to provide additional federal funding opportunities for small- and medium-sized cities.” The text of the TIGER CUBS Act is available here. To learn more about the TIGER program, visit www.dot.gov/tiger. The following cities in Snohomish, Skagit, Whatcom and Island counties would be eligible for the CUBS set-aside: Island County
Skagit County
Snohomish County
Whatcom County
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