Action
Notice of availability of funds inviting applications for credit assistance for major surface transportation projects.
Summary
The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) created the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 1998 (TIFIA). The TIFIA authorizes the Department of Transportation (DOT) to provide credit assistance in the form of secured (direct) loans, lines of credit, and loan guarantees to public and private sponsors of eligible surface transportation projects. The revised TIFIA regulations (49 CFR Part 80, as published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register, provide specific guidance on the program requirements. These revised regulations, which will apply to applications filed under this notice, amend the June 2, 1999 rule to: clarify that funds will be disbursed based on the project's anticipated financing needs; clarify that the borrower must obtain ongoing credit surveillance for the life of the TIFIA credit instrument; assign specific weights to each of the eight statutory selection criteria; specify that loan servicing fees are to be paid by the borrower; modify the time period for audited financial statements from 120 days to within no more than 180 days; and provide that administrative offsets will be employed only in cases of fraud, misrepresentation, or criminal acts. Funding for this program is limited, and projects requesting assistance will be evaluated and selected by the DOT on a competitive basis. Following selections, term sheets will be issued and credit agreements will be developed through negotiations between the project sponsors and the DOT. The TIFIA statute provides budget authority of $110 million for FY 2001 to fund the subsidy costs of up to $2.2 billion in credit assistance. However, as described below, the amount of actual net budget authority available in FY 2001 depends on several additional factors.