H.R. 3174 (113th Congress)

Great Seal of the United States
Full title To authorize the Secretary of Transportation to obligate funds for emergency relief projects arising from damage caused by severe weather events in 2013, and for other purposes.
Introduced in 113th United States Congress
Introduced on September 25, 2013
Sponsored by Rep. Cory Gardner (R-CO)
Number of Co-Sponsors 6
Effects and Codifications
Title(s) affected 23 U.S.C. § 125
Agencies affected United States Department of Transportation
Legislative history

The bill H.R. 3174, long title "To authorize the Secretary of Transportation to obligate funds for emergency relief projects arising from damage caused by severe weather events in 2013, and for other purposes," is a bill that was introduced in the United States House of Representatives during the 113th United States Congress.[1] The bill would allow the United States Department of Transportation to "exceed a $100 million cap on grants to repair roads damaged by a national emergency."[2] The bill was written in response to the 2013 Colorado floods, which caused as much as $500 million worth of damage to Colorado's roads.[2]

Background

Main article: 2013 Colorado floods

The 2013 Colorado floods were a natural disaster that occurred in the U.S. state of Colorado. During the week starting on September 9, 2013, a slow-moving cold front stalled over Colorado, clashing with warm humid monsoonal air from the south.[3] This resulted in heavy rain and catastrophic flooding along Colorado's Front Range from Colorado Springs north to Fort Collins. The situation intensified on September 11 and 12. Boulder County was the worst hit, with 9.08 inches (231 mm) recorded September 12 and up to 17 inches (430 mm) of rain recorded by September 15,[4][5][6] which is comparable to Boulder County's average annual precipitation (20.7 inches, 525 mm).[7]

The flood waters spread across a range of almost 200 miles (320 km) from north to south, affecting 17 counties.[8] Governor John Hickenlooper declared a disaster emergency on September 13, 2013, in 14 counties: Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Boulder, Denver, El Paso, Fremont, Jefferson, Larimer, Logan, Morgan, Pueblo, Washington and Weld.[9] By September 15, federal emergency declarations covered those 14 counties as well as Clear Creek County.

Provisions of the bill

This summary is based largely on the summary provided by the Congressional Budget Office, a public domain source.[10]

H.R. 3174 would exempt Colorado from a cap on funding, contained in Division A of Public Law 113-2 (The Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2013), from the Federal Aid Highways Emergency Relief program of $100 million per emergency incident.[10] Under the bill, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that $300 million of funds made available for the Emergency Relief Program in Public Law 113-2 would be used in Colorado to repair roads damaged by flooding in 2013.[10] The CBO estimates that by using those funds in Colorado in fiscal year 2014 instead of on emergency repair projects in other states in future years, the pace of spending of that money would be slightly faster over the 2014-2015 period but slower in later years and thus result in no net change in direct spending over the 2014-2023 period.[10]

Procedural history

House

H.R. 3174 was introduced in the House on September 25, 2013 by Rep. Cory Gardner (R-CO).[11] It was referred to the United States House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.[11] On September 30, 2013, newspaper The Hill reported that the House was expected to consider H.R. 3174 under a suspension of the rules later that day.[2] The bill passed by voice vote on September 30, 2013.[12]

Debate and discussion

When arguing in favor of the bill, Rep. Cory Gardner cited the statistics that the flood effected "two hundred mile lines of highway."[12] The fact that a similar bill had been sponsored by Colorado's senators in the Senate was considered "an indication that the bill has a good chance of passing in the Senate."[12]

See also

Notes/References

  1. ↑ "H.R. 3174 - Summary". United States Congress. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 Kasperowicz, Pete (30 September 2013). "Monday: Shutdown, or breakthrough?". The Hill. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
  3. ↑ "Colorado flood: No relief in sight as record rain falls". The Denver Post. September 12, 2013. Retrieved September 17, 2013.
  4. ↑ Matt Smith; Dave Hennen (September 20, 2013). "Record rain, steep canyons fueled Colorado floods". CNN.
  5. ↑ Amanda Paulson (September 13, 2013). "For Colorado's 'biblical' floods, numbers tell astonishing tale". The Christian Science Monitor.
  6. ↑ Andrew Freedman (September 16, 2013). "Flood-Ravaged Boulder, Colo., Sets Annual Rainfall Record". Climate Central.
  7. ↑ Average Yearly Precipitation for Colorado. Current Results. Retrieved September 19, 2013.
  8. ↑ "Colorado flood: Rebuild likely to take more than a year". 9news.com. September 16, 2013. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
  9. ↑ Garrison, Robert (September 13, 2013). "Governor declares disaster emergency in 14 counties". 9news.com. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "CBO - H.R. 3174 - Colorado Flooding" (PDF). Congressional Budget Office. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
  11. 1 2 "H.R. 3174 - All Actions". United States Congress. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
  12. 1 2 3 Kasperowicz, Pete (30 September 2013). "House votes to boost funding for Colorado flood relief". The Hill. Retrieved 30 September 2013.

External links

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