A bill called the Transportation Funding Fairness Act (TFFA), introduced by first-term U.S. Rep. Tom Malinowski (D) of New Jersey, would give more latitude for states to use federal funds to help pay for projects, such as the Gateway Tunnel between New York and New Jersey.
“The TFFA will clear one of the obstacles the administration has placed in the path of building Gateway, and other similar projects around the country,” Malinowski said in a press release. “Funding for infrastructure is one issue on which I think the Congress can make progress this year, and this bill can be an important part of that effort.”
The bill (H.R.731), introduced Jan. 23, had seven co-sponsors as of Jan. 28 and the endorsement of SMART Transportation Division and the Amalgamated Transit Union.
“SMART Transportation Division supports The Transportation Funding Fairness Act,” New Jersey State Legislative Director Ron Sabol said in the release. “It’s about time we get funding fairness for our much needed infrastructure projects.”
Read the full release from Malinowski’s office.

WASHINGTON –  NewJersey.com reported that U.S. Senators Cory Booker and Robert Melendez wrote to the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on transportation, calling on committee leadership to secure federal funding for Amtrak and also for the Amtrak Gateway Project – which seeks to rebuild and restructure the commuter train tunnel system that has connected New York City and New Jersey for more than a century. This comes after the occurrence of devastating derailments in the northeast corridor over the past year. Read the complete story here.
The New York Post.com also reported that U.S. Senator Charles Schumer is calling on the feds for funding to “help fix Amtrak.” Click here to read the entire story.