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Administration says $9 billion won in federal funds; warns of changing federal landscape and project uncertainty
Summary
Quentin Palfrey told the Joint Committee on Transportation that the Healy‑Driscoll administration has secured about $9 billion in federal grants — roughly $6.4 billion for transportation — but stressed municipalities face terminations, delays and uncertainty as federal priorities shift.
Quentin Palfrey, the governor's director of federal funds and infrastructure, told the Joint Committee on Transportation that the Healy‑Driscoll administration has secured roughly $9 billion in federal grant awards since taking office, including about $6.4 billion specifically for transportation projects.
Palfrey said the administration created a whole‑of‑government office to pursue competitive federal funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS and Science Act, and is working with municipalities statewide to capture opportunities and provide technical assistance.
He said the administration has won awards that fund projects across the Commonwealth, including grants supporting the Alston multimodal project, West‑East rail planning and a range of roadway safety and clean‑school‑bus programs. Palfrey told the committee the state also used Chapter 214 of the Acts of 2024 — a $750 million match and technical assistance appropriation — to help municipalities compete for federal dollars.
But Palfrey cautioned that the federal funding environment is changing rapidly. He said the administration is receiving reports of grant terminations and delays, and that municipalities have “concern and uncertainty” about program changes at the federal level. He described the office’s work to convene municipal and regional partners, to stack financing creatively, and to use the Chapter 214 match resources to preserve projects where possible.
Palfrey said the state will press the federal government to honor signed grant agreements and will work with the congressional delegation when needed, and noted the administration is deploying the new state matching funds and technical assistance to shore up municipal applications.
The committee had no formal votes on the testimony; lawmakers asked Palfrey about the risk of clawbacks and whether the state can fully backfill federal reductions. Palfrey answered that outcomes are case‑by‑case, that the administration cannot replace every federal dollar, but that the office will work closely with communities and legal partners to protect awarded grants and to find alternative financing where feasible.
The administration asked municipalities to continue reporting concerns and to use state technical assistance and matching funds while the federal picture evolves.
