{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://zeldin.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-zeldin-s-safe-bridges-act-now-law", "Rep. Zeldins Safe Bridges Act Now Law", "2015-12-14", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "NY", "Lee Zeldin", "Z000017", "zeldin.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, DC  Congressman Lee Zeldin (R, C  NY-1), member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, announced today that the Safe Bridges Act (H.R. 3168), bipartisan legislation he introduced in Congress to strengthen New Yorks infrastructure, was signed into law by the President.\nUnder MAP-21, a 2012 federal law, states, counties, towns and villages were cut off from the funding needed to repair and maintain bridges. According to the New York State Department of Transportation, New York received $271 million in federal funding for the Highway Bridge program in 2011. Due to the changes under MAP-21, New York State received $0 in Highway Bridge program funding in 2014. Congressman Zeldins Safe Bridges Act reforms federal highway law, ensuring our critical overpasses and bridges once again have access to this funding.\nCongressman Zeldin said, It is great news for Long Islanders that the Safe Bridges Act was signed into law by the President. This new law will drive funding to our region to ensure our overpasses and bridges on Long Island are once again eligible for much needed federal funding. Under the Safe Bridges Act, over 80 bridges and overpasses across the First Congressional District will now be eligible for federal funding, a major win for Long Island.\nOur roads, overpasses, and bridges are essential to the Long Island economy, way of life and safety, and as a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, I am proud to be working on a bipartisan basis to ensure states and local governments have more flexibility and resources necessary to strengthen our infrastructure, Congressman Zeldin concluded.\nCongressman Zeldin introduced the Safe Bridges Act with Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY-18) on July 22, 2015. The Safe Bridges Act, which was included in the House highway bill, passed both the House and Senate, and was signed into law by the President on December 4, 2015.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://zeldin.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-zeldin-s-safe-bridges-act-now-law"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.6186109967529774, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}