WASHINGTON, D.C. — Arlington is but one of the small- and medium-sized cities in Snohomish, Skagit, Island and Whatcom counties that would receive a greater share of federal transportation dollars under a bill introduced on Thursday, Aug. 1, by U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen of Washington state’s 2nd Congressional District.

The Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery for Cities Underfunded Because of Size (TIGER CUBS) Act of 2013 would set aside 20 percent of special transportation infrastructure funding specifically for smaller cities.

“TIGER grants are a great way to create jobs by investing in our roads, bridges and highways, but smaller cities like Arlington don’t have the resources to compete for these grants with the New Yorks and San Franciscos of the country,” Larsen said. “The TIGER CUBS Act will make sure that Arlington has a fair shot at these critical transportation dollars.”

Congress established the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Discretionary Grant program in 2009 as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. About a quarter of TIGER funding has been set aside for rural communities, with the bulk of the remainder going to large cities and statewide projects. Larsen’s TIGER CUBS Act would reauthorize the TIGER program, and set aside 20 percent of the funding for cities with populations between 10,000-50,000 people.

To learn more about the TIGER program, visit www.dot.gov/tiger.