September 30, 2009 10:03 PM UTC

Udall, Bennet: Senate Needs to Get Off its Duff Today or Colorado Will Suffer

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• by: ThillyWabbit

POLS UPDATE: A local Twitter campaign has popped up targeting Sen. Harry Reid: “Tell @SenatorReid 2 Save $8.7B in #ARRA transport funds before it’s lost @ midnite 9-30! http://act.ly/lu #actly #FAIL”

A joint press release today from Senator Mark Udall and Senator Michael Bennet issued a joint press release sounding the alarm that the state stands to lose a quarter of its stimulus money for transportation if the Senate doesn’t act by midnight tonight:

The provision, embedded in the “The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users” (SAFETEA-LU), would cause $8.7 billion to be rescinded from state departments of transportation across the country. To prevent the rescission, the provision must be repealed by midnight tonight, when the federal government’s fiscal year ends.

For several months, the Senators have been fighting for repeal, but because of delays and disagreements about other transportation issues, there has been no action on the rescission. The Senators have repeatedly made the point that without the repeal, state departments of transportation across the country would have to cut funding to existing and future construction projects. The $114,683,752 Colorado could lose is equal to a quarter of the transportation funding the state has received from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Read the letter here…

Does anybody else think the Senate just needs to be abolished besides me? Unicameral legislature anyone?