Document pqkwZZg39z6OL816ZQ8ywBw

United tatc,s*mate WASHINGTON, DC 20510 July 11, 2025 The Honorable Sean Duffy Secretary United States Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E. Washington, D.C. 20590 Dear Secretary Duffy: I write regarding my concerns with the Corridor Identification and Development Program's (CID) non-federal match and its impact on critical infrastructure projects. While CID is intended to support the development of passenger rail corridors across the country, its current non-federal match limits the program to short, state-funded corridors and excludes long-distance routes. CID's original Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) requires a 10 percent non-federal match for the Service Development Plan and a 20 percent non-federal match for Project Development. These requirements may represent a sensible allocation of federal resources for shorter corridors in which one or two states accrue benefits from investment. Long-distance corridors, however, operate over 750 miles and cross too many states for any one or small collection to primarily benefit from or feasibly coordinate on non-federal matches. The Big Sky North Coast Corridor, which would pass through eight states and cover 2,300 miles to connect Chicago to Seattle, is the only new long-distance route in CID. Big Sky carries substantial potential for improving transportation options and flexibility while promoting economic development in states like Montana, but it needs realistic federal policy to achieve these goals. The non-federal match does not follow from statutory or regulatory requirements and can be remedied in the Round 2 NOFO or through an administrative decision. Long-distance corridors are currently in Step 1, with no federal match requirement, so corrective action now can provide certainty and stability for progress on longer-term planning and project development. Longdistance routes serve a national purpose and require national support. I urge you to eliminate CID's non-federal match in Steps 2 and 3 for current and prospective long-distance routes and make these changes retroactive to long-distance routes already accepted into CID. Sincerely, Tim Sheehy United States Senator Sierra Club v. Dept. of Transp. - 3:25-cv-06221 SC_EVERSPLIT0019074