Transportation Sec. Chao: Rural Areas to Get More Aid

Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said Monday that rural areas would now receive more federal funding for infrastructure improvements under a program that had long been biased toward urban areas.

"Rural America is not looking for a handout," Chao told Paul Bedard of The Washington Examiner. "They merely want not to be overlooked or discriminated against and to have their fair share in the distribution of federal resources."

Under the program, Rural Opportunities to Use Transportation for Economic Success (ROUTES), communities can apply directly to the U.S. Transportation Department for dollars for upgrading airports, roads and rail operations.

Historically, rural communities have received only 21% of as much as $8 billion in such funds — but at least half would now be earmarked in future years, Bedard reports.

Applications would be reviewed by a special council, Chao said, and the initial funds could come as early as next spring.

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