U.S. Reps. Tom Emmer (R-MN) and Pete Stauber (R-MN) joined a bipartisan, bicameral contingent of their home-state colleagues in requesting grant selection information from the Department of Transportation (DOT), which reportedly skipped awarding certain federal transportation project funds to Minnesota.
“We write to request information regarding why Minnesota transportation projects did not receive any funding through the DOT’s Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grant program this year,” wrote the state’s congressional delegation in a Nov. 26 letter sent to U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao.
Among the nine members joining Reps. Emmer and Stauber in signing the letter were U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN), as well as U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN).
“To provide clarity to the many competitive applicants from our state, we ask that DOT provide insight into the grant selection process,” the lawmakers wrote.
According to their letter, while DOT awarded $900 million in BUILD grants this fiscal year, Minnesota received zero funding while other states received as many as three federal BUILD grants.
“As a result, Minnesota communities were deprived of a key opportunity to improve the safety and efficiency of transportation networks across our state, as well as the economic benefits of direct investments in reliable infrastructure,” wrote the Minnesota members.
The lawmakers requested that Secretary Chao share “the determination behind the merits and compared benefits of projects against Minnesota applications.”