US Transport Secretary says funding priority to be given to areas with high birth rates

US Transport Secretary, Sean Duffy, is sworn in. Photo: DOT

In an undated memo sent to the DOT, Duffy tells staff to give priority to communities with marriage and birth rates above the national average for grants, loans and contracts.

The memo, which is effective immediately says: “To the maximum extent permitted by the law, DOT supported or assisted programs and activities, including.. all DOT grants, loans, contracts and DOT supported or assisted State contracts shall prioritize projects and goals that… mitigate the unique impacts of DOT programs, policies and activities on families and family-specific difficulties, such as the accessibility of transportation to families with young children and give preference to communities with marriage and birth rates higher than the national average (including administering the Federal Transit Administration’s Capital Investment Grant program).”

The Federal Transit Administration’s Capital Investment Grant program funds transit capital investments across the USA including heavy rail, commuter rail, light rail, streetcars and bus rapid transit.

The memo also told staff to prioritize projects and goals with user-pay models and to prohibit recipients of DOT support or assistance from imposing vaccine or mask mandates.

The memo did not say on which exact measures DOT staff should assess grant applications under the new order.

According to official Centre for Disease Control data, the US state with the highest fertility rate in 2022 (the latest year for which information is available) was South Dakota where the fertility rate per 1,000 women aged 15-44 stood at 66.5. The state with the lowest fertility rate on this measure was Vermont which had a fertility rate of 44.3.

Sean Duffy and his wife Rachel Campos-Duffy, a fellow former reality TV personality together have nine children. Duffy has also worked as a contributor to Fox News.