Document 2RojdyKnLYbD57ykQQkLbZVRR

Sincerely, BERNIE MORENO United States Senator JON HUSTED United States Senator OST-2025-1200 Page 00297 Sierra Club v. Dept. of Transp. - 3:25-cv-06221 2 SC_EVERSPLIT0011978 From: Sent: To: Subject: Attachments: Pearce, Krisann Tue, 3 Jun 2025 19:17:35 +0000 Matesic, Hannah (OST) BUILD grant rec letter 20250603 Mont Co BUILD - signed.pdf You don't often get email from krisann.pearce@mail.house.gov. Learn why this is important This email originated from outside of the Department of Transportation (DOT). Do not click on links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Hello -- I hope all is well! I'm passing along a recommendation from Rep. Schmidt for the BUILD grant application submitted by Montgomery County, Kansas. Please let me know of any questions. Thanks! -krisann Krisann Pearce, Chief of Staff Office of Rep. Derek Schmidt (KS-02) 1223 Longworth HOB, Washington, DC b)(6) Schmidt.housc.gov OST-2025-1200 Page 00298 Sierra Club v. Dept. of Transp. - 3:25-cv-06221 SC_EVERSPLIT0011979 DEREK SCHMIDT 2ND DISTRICT, KANSAS HOUSE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE HOUSE SMALL BUSINESS COMMITTEE Congreog of the Ziniteb btateo lipuoe of Repreoentatibeo Ellasbington, DQt 20515-1602 1223 LONGWORTH HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON, DC 20515-1602 (202) 225-6601 3550 SW 5TH ST. SUITE B TOPEKA, KS 66606 (785) 205-5253 402 N. BROADWAY ST. SUITE B PITTSBURG, KS 66762 (620) 308-7450 June 3, 2025 The Honorable Sean Duffy Secretary of Transportation U.S. Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey Ave, SE Washington, DC 20590 Dear Secretary Duffy, I write to urge support of the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grant application submitted by Montgomery County, Kansas. This BUILD grant will result in significantly improved surface transportation infrastructure in the county. Montgomery County's BUILD grant will fund improvements to County Road 4400 and County Road 5300, which feed onto US-160 and US-169. The two county roads are currently gravel roads, and the project will widen, lengthen, and pave the two roads. It will also support improvements to the entrances and exits for the US highways. This area is now home to a soybean processing plant whose transport trucks use these county roads. At the height of the soybean processing season, 1,100 to 1,200 trucks per day are anticipated to travel these roads. The area also expects to be home to a sustainable aviation fuel plant within the coming few years. With this additional plant, the area could have an additional 300 trucks per day on these roads. Roads in the area must be upgraded to support this business development, reduce traffic congestion from the increased truck traffic, and improve the safety of all travelers in this area. The BUILD grant is necessary to ensure the county has the road infrastructure to support the growing economic development in Southeast Kansas. Derek Schmidt Member of Congress OST-2025-1200 Page 00299 PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER Sierra Club v. Dept. of Transp. - 3:25-cv-06221 SC_EVERSPLIT0011980 From: Sent: To: Subject: Attachments: Pulizzi, George (Banks) Tue, 10 Jun 2025 16:44:20 +0000 Matesic, Hannah (OST) Build Grant Status 5122025_74548PM_LOS_Allen_County_BUILD_Poka-Bache_Trail.pdf k This email originated from outside of the Department of Transportation (DOT). Do not click on links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Hannah, Thanks for getting back to us so quickly on PROTECT and RAISE grants. That's why you're the best in the biz! Hate to annoy you again, but any chance you could give an update on BUILD grants? We sent a letter in support of a BUILD grant application for a project in Allen County, IN (attached). The organization who applied sent the below newsletter they got from the Rails to Trails Conservancy and it spooked them. Any info you could provide, I'd really REALLY appreciate it! Thanks again for everything, George OST-2025-1200 Page 00300 Sierra Club v. Dept. of Transp. - 3:25-cv-06221 SC_EVERSPLIT0011981 to, RAILS TO rails conservancy Federal Policy Update Julia-- The news on federal funding for trails, walking and biking continues to be challenging as updates out of the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) show little movement for active transportation projects, while Congress' proposal to rescind millions in awarded funding for trails, walking and biking makes progress. Here's a snapshot on recent updates and what you can do to advocate to protect federal funding for the country's trail networks. Congressional Funding Threats Last week, the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee passed its proposal for the budget reconciliation bill, which cuts unobligated funding for the Neighborhood Access and Equity (NAE) program--through which over $748 million for active transportation projects was initially awarded. Passing the bill out of committee is the first step in the process to get a final reconciliation bill, which Congressional leaders aim to send to the president before July 4 and will require much negotiation between the House and the Senate to get there. RTC is deeply concerned about this funding attack. Rescinding these funds undermines the value of active transportation, harming the places that were awarded grants while doing nothing to address the growing, unmet demand for safe, connected walking and biking routes. OST-2025-1200 Page 00301 Sierra Club v. Dept. of Transp. - 3:25-cv-06221 SC_EVERSPLIT0011982 This is the first example in many years of Congress attempting to claw back active transportation grants, and it's important that we make clear the harm it will cause. If you are among the communities that has received an NAE award, or your representative supports the T&I committee's proposal, engage your federal representatives to make sure they understand how important this program--and your project--is. We need to make it known that it would be harmful to take back sorely needed resources that their region worked hard to receive and are counting upon to make the community safe and economically vibrant. USDOT Updates on Grant Reviews and Agreements On the USDOT front, Secretary Sean Duffy announced that the department has approved 180 grant agreements. While this is a small fraction of the 3,200 grants that the administration says remain without agreements and are still pending review, it is encouraging to see initial movement. Very few of the announced agreements included active transportation. However, of the projects moving forward is a nearly $10 million Safe Streets and Roads for All grant to the City of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, that provides safe walking and biking infrastructure for vulnerable users, suggesting there may not be a blanket prohibition on these projects. This announcement does not reduce the risk for the $3 billion in discretionary grants for trails, walking and biking that are under review. While it continues to be unclear how the USDOT is reviewing active transportation projects and what criteria will be used to approve, modify or cancel projects, this announcement offered insight to projects addressing DEI and climate change elements. Specifically, the USDOT stated an intention to eliminate the "social cost of carbon accounting ... greenhouse gas emission reporting, and ... DEI language." RTC continues to engage USDOT staff, and we are tracking the status of grants to inform specific advocacy. If you have updates on the status of your grant, please share here or contact Isabelle Lord at isabelle@railstotrails.org or 202.974.5131. We will continue to be in touch with updates from Congress and the administration. In partnership, Kevin Mills Vice President of Policy Rails to Trails Conservancy Web Version I Forward to a Friend I RTC Home OST-2025-1200 Page 00302 Sierra Club v. Dept. of Transp. - 3:25-cv-06221 SC_EVERSPLIT0011983 omoa You are receiving this message because the email address is subscribed to our email list. Be sure that this message doesn't get sent to your junk-mail folder. Please add Rails to Trails Conservancy (info(asailstotrails.org) to your safe senders list in your address book. Please do not reply to this message, contact us by visiting our website. Rails to Trails Conservancy 2445 M Street, NW, Suite 650 Washington, DC 20037 1.866.202.9788 RTC railstotrails.orq Edit your subscription I Unsubscribe George Pulizzi Legislative Assistant Senator Jim Banks (R-IN) (b)(6) JIM BANKS U.S. SENATOR f;,i- INDIANA 0 OO OST-2025-1200 Page 00303 Sierra Club v. Dept. of Transp. - 3:25-cv-06221 SC_EVERSPLIT0011984 JIM BANKS INDIANA United ,*tates senate WASHINGTON, DC 20510 January 27, 2025 Secretary of Transportation U.S. Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590 Dear Secretary: I write to bring your attention to the Poka-Bache Trail Connector project submitted by Allen County for the FY2025 BUILD Grant Program. The county's project will partner with municipalities and organizations within Allen County to complete the segment of the PokaBache trail corridor, an 82-mile trail that will connect Pokagon State Park in Steuben County with Oubache State Park in Wells County. Completing the Poka-Bache Connector will create the longest trail in the state of Indiana. The connector will attract outside tourism and promote regional connectivity. Seven communities including Fort Wayne, the second largest city in the state, and four counties will be connected once the trail is complete. Each community along the trail has developed main street corridors integrated with the trail path. This trail is also one of the State Visionary Trails, as defined by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. This project showcases excellent regional collaboration to develop a new attraction for northeast Indiana that would also be of great benefit to current residents of the region. Please give their application every possible consideration under U.S. Code and federal regulations. Sincerely, r;....4-, Jim Banks U.S. Senator OST-2025-1200 Page 00304 Sierra Club v. Dept. of Transp. - 3:25-cv-06221 SC_EVERSPLIT0011985 From: Sent: To: Subject: VanKirk, Rob (Moreno) Mon, 7 Jul 2025 14:11:54 +0000 Matesic, Hannah (OST) BUILD Grants This email originated from outside of the Department of Transportation (DOT). Do not click on links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Hi Hannah, Hope you had a nice 4th of July. I saw a note on DOT's website that DOT is working to announce BUILD Grants awards as soon as possible. I just wanted to check in and see if you are aware if any of the awards had been announced. Sincerely, Rob Van Kirk Senior Legislative Assistant U.S. Senator Bernie Moreno OST-2025-1200 Page 00305 Sierra Club v. Dept. of Transp. - 3:25-cv-06221 SC_EVERSPLIT0011986 From: Sent: To: Cc: Subject: Attachments: Gross, Sophia Tue, 25 Mar 2025 19:33:41 +0000 Matesic, Hannah (OST) Syrniotis, Maria; Mastrandrea, Jake BUILD Letter of Support - City of Haverhill, MA Trahan Haverhill BUILD Grant LoS.pdf You don't often get email from sophia.gross@mail.house.gov. Learn why this is important This email originated from outside of the Department of Transportation (DOT). Do not click on links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Good Afternoon, On behalf of the office of Congresswoman Lori Trahan (MA03), please see the attached letter of support for the City of Haverhill's BUILD Grant application. Thank you for your attention to this matter and please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions. Best regards, Sophia Gross, (she/her/ella) Outreach and Constituent Representative Email: sophia.grossQmail.house.gov I Lowell Office: (b)(6) 2233 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515 126 John Street, Suite 12, Lowell, MA 01852 LORI TRAHAN SERVING MASSACHUSETTS' 3RD CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT OST-2025-1200 Page 00306 Sierra Club v. Dept. of Transp. - 3:25-cv-06221 SC_EVERSPLIT0011987 LORI TRAHAN 3RD DISTRICT, MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE CO.CHAIR, DEMOCRATIC POLICY AND COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE DEMOCRATIC STEERING AND POLICY COMMITTEE DEPUTY WHIP United States House of Representatives March 13, 2025 126 JOHN STREET, SUITE 12 LOWELL. MA 01852 (9781 459-0101 2233 RAYBURN HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON, DC 20515 (202) 225-3411 TRAHAN.HOUSE.GOV Sean Duffy, Secretary of Transportation US Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SW Washington DC 20590 Re: Support for Haverhill, MA -- FY25 BUILD Discretionary Grant Application Dear Secretary Duffy, I am writing to express my enthusiastic support for the City of Haverhill's application to the Department of Transportation's Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) Discretionary Grant Program for their East-West Corridor Project. The BUILD Grant Program is unique in that it offers targeted funding for projects that will offer significant and tangible benefits for residents across the region. This is precisely the case with Haverhill's meticulously crafted East-West Corridor Project. The Project directly addresses community needs and concerns regarding the corridor, as evidenced by the feedback from residents that the City sought out to ensure the proposed changes would make meaningful and lasting improvements to the quality of life. The City of Haverhill plans to use BUILD funds to resolve safety and connectivity issues along River Street, Water Street, and Lincoln Avenue. The City selected this corridor, a popular pedestrian destination, because of its significance to the local economy and community life. Simultaneously, economic growth in the area has led to street widening and higher traffic throughput. The East-West Corridor Project balances the safety concerns of community members with the transportation needs of local and regional businesses. Through the BUILD Grant Program, DOT has the opportunity to support an infrastructure project that will promote economic prosperity for the businesses and residents of Haverhill while improving the health and safety of the community. As such, I respectfully request that the City of Haverhill's application receive full and fair consideration. Please do not hesitate to contact my District Director, Maria Syrniotis, at (978) 459-0101 with any questions you may have. Thank you for your attention to this important matter. Sincerely, Lori Trahan Member of Congress OST-2025-1200 Page 00307 Sierra Club v. Dept. of Transp. - 3:25-cv-06221 SC_EVERSPLIT0011988 From: Sent: To: Subject: Matesic, Hannah (OST) Thu, 17 Apr 2025 15:15:10 +0000 Ruddy, Jack Building Access I've got you all added for Tuesday, bring your IDs and Tamica will escort you in when you get here. Her contact info is below Dixon, Tamica K. (OST) tamica.dixon@dot.gov (b)(6) Hannah Matesic Deputy Assistant Secretary for Congressional Affairs U.S. Department of Transportation OST-2025-1200 Page 00308 Sierra Club v. Dept. of Transp. - 3:25-cv-06221 SC_EVERSPLIT0011989