Hooray for earmarks

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Today the City Council Mobility Committee heard a sobering presentation from the city's chief lobbyist, Carrie Rogers, and Transportation & Public Works Director Richard Mendoza about whether the Trump administration is going to block federal dollars the city was previously counting on.

Bottom line: they don't know. But it ain't looking pretty.

"I would not be doing my job if I didn't make it very clear that this is a very different time in terms of funding availability for projects," said Rogers in response to a question from CM Natasha Harper-Madison about the general outlook.

There are three federal grants the city was awarded by the Biden administration but have not yet been "executed." These are the three that city officials concede may be at risk:

$105 million grant to build a cap over I-35 between Cesar Chavez & 4th St

$32 million to replace the Barton Springs Rd Bridge

$10.5 million grant for pedestrian improvements

There are other grants that appear to be on safer ground because the grant agreement has already been executed. See below:

There are other federally-funded projects that are also not threatened by the Trump administration because they were specifically authorized by Congress. The other word for them: earmarks.