MA: Feds tie transportation funding to birth rates: ‘Concerning,’ says Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey

Feb. 5, 2025
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey slammed a memo from U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy that directs the federal Department of Transportation to prioritize projects in communities that have birth rates higher than the national average.

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey slammed a memo from U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy that directs the federal Department of Transportation to prioritize projects in communities that have birth rates higher than the national average.

The memo could have broad implications for projects across the United States, including in Massachusetts and New England, where birth rates have been steadily declining over the past decade and fell below the national average in 2023, according to state and federal data.

Healey said she did not understand how marriage or birth rates could be tied to transportation.

“I got to be honest, I’ve really tried here but I do not see a connection,” she told reporters at the State House Monday afternoon. “We’re a state that’s very serious about ensuring that our residents and our business have access to the highest quality public transit in the entire country.”

In the undated memo, Duffy said any Department of Transportation-supported or assisted program — including all grants, loans, and contracts — should prioritize projects and goals that “mitigate the unique impacts of DOT programs, policies, and activities on families and family-specific difficulties.”

That includes “accessibility of transportation to families with young children, and (giving) preference to communities with marriage and birth rates higher than the national average.”

The memo also said the Department of Transportation would prioritize projects and goals that “require local compliance or cooperation with federal immigration enforcement and with other goals and objectives specified by the president of the United States or the secretary.”

“The department’s grantmaking, lending, policymaking, and rulemaking activities shall be based on sound economic principles and analysis supported by rigorous cost-benefit requirements and data-driven decisions,” the memo said.

Healey said the memo was “concerning.”

“It’s concerning to governors around the country because people rely on transportation just like they rely on child care and infrastructure,” she said. “I’m focused on fixing roads and bridges and building out the kind of transit system that we need, and we need a federal partner who’s rowing in that direction.”

The national birth rate decreased by 3% from 2022 to 2023, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. It was the second consecutive year of decline after a brief increase from 2020 to 2021.

The national birth rate in 2023 was 54.4 births per 1,000 females aged 15 to 44, according to the center. Massachusetts had 48.7 births per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44, data showed.

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