The most impactful earmark of the current legislative era wasn’t technically an earmark at all. The Gateway Program consists of a series of major projects between New Jersey and Penn Station in New York, including a new tunnel under the Hudson River. The current price tag for the program is $12.3 billion, but federal funding for the program has been uncertain for years. It is uncertain no longer. And with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approving a final permit for the tunneling project on 1 December, construction is on track for a 2023 start.
Gateway is not mentioned by name in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. In fact, there aren’t any specific project earmarks in the law. But, between the funding allocated to Amtrak capital projects and for the Northeast Corridor, specifically, a federal check for Gateway is all but in the mail. The project’s funding stands to make New York/New Jersey a clear regional winner from the legislation.
And as far as massive, tacit earmarks go, Gateway was successful. If you are a House Republican that voted for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, there is a nearly 50/50 chance that your district is in New York or New Jersey. One of the benefits of earmarks is that they can break legislative impasses in a divided Washington. The Gateway project helped do just that last month. Based on its price tag, everyone knew that Gateway needed this federal infrastructure legislation. But in the end, perhaps the legislation needed Gateway, too.
