ACEC Supports Senate EPW Committee’s Surface Transportation Reauthorization Act

ACEC News / Advocacy

May 24, 2021

ACEC Supports Senate EPW Committee’s Surface Transportation Reauthorization Act

In a letter today to the leaders of the Senate Environmental & Public Works Committee, ACEC President and CEO Linda Bauer Darr expressed strong support for the committee’s bipartisan Surface Transportation Reauthorization Act.

“We applaud the committee for advancing a bipartisan bill that will ensure five years of growing investment in core infrastructure programs,” Darr wrote. “This essential legislation provides critical resources necessary to upgrade our roads and bridges, improve safety, incorporate new technologies, and enhance the resilience and sustainability of our transportation networks.”

ACEC also expressed support for the measures in the bill to promote a more resilient transportation system.

“Your surface transportation reauthorization bill provides the resources necessary to improve resiliency and durability so that structures can better resist damage, infrastructure can be assessed more accurately following a disaster, and systems can return to service more quickly,” Darr wrote.

She highlighted the provisions in the bill to facilitate more efficient project delivery, including the codification of the One Federal Decision policy, writing that they “will allow project sponsors to avoid unnecessary delays while still ensuring robust environmental protections and public involvement.”

Finally, ACEC requested that the EPW Committee include legislative language in the bill to provide relief from the FAR Credits Clause for engineering firms that have forgiven PPP loans.

Click here to read the letter.

Click here to view a summary of the EPW legislation.

All comments to blog posts will be moderated by ACEC staff.