TxDOT to Lose $742 Million in Federal Funding

AUSTIN - Faced with deteriorating pavement quality scores and growing congestion, the Texas

Department of Transportation (TxDOT) was required to return more than $742 million to the

federal government Wednesday as part of an $8.708 billion rescission of highway project

programming authority.

Rescissions, or reductions in the funding allotted by legislation, are not new. Historically,

rescissions have been flexible, allowing states to decide which spending categories to reduce.

This allows TxDOT to limit their impact on the state's planned funding levels.

The language included in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 has made

rescissions much less flexible. States must instead reduce each spending category by a specific

amount, including the equity bonus category, which is designed to bring each state’s share of

highway funding more in-line with the proportion of gas tax dollars paid into the system by that

state. This results in a reduction in Texas’ obligation authority and causes TxDOT to award

fewer contracts.

“In the past, we’ve worked hard to minimize the impact of rescissions on Texas drivers,”

TxDOT’s Chief Financial Officer James Bass said. “For this rescission, however, the limited

flexibility offered and sheer magnitude of it has translated into our ability to award contracts

being reduced at a time when our communities need transportation funding to improve mobility

and enhance economic opportunity.”

Congress attempted to repeal the rescission while extending the current surface transportation

program, also known as SAFETEA-LU. Their efforts were unsuccessful.

As part of this rescission, Texas was required to return $1.9 million to make up for a shortfall in

the amount to be returned from the state of Nevada. Prior to this rescission, TxDOT had already

been required to return approximately $1.2 billion to Washington. Together, the rescinded

amount since 2006 equals about $260 per Texas household.

TxDOT is responsible for maintaining nearly 80,000 miles of road and for supporting aviation, rail and

public transportation across the state. TxDOT and its 14,000 employees strive to empower local leaders

to solve local transportation problems, and to use new financial tools, including tolling and public-private

partnerships, to reduce congestion and pave the way for future economic growth while enhancing safety,

improving air quality and increasing the value of the state’s transportation assets. Find out more at

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For more information, call TxDOT’s Government & Public Affairs Division at (512) 463-8588.