House T&I Chair DeFazio Releases Five-year, $494 billion Surface Transportation Reauthorization Bill

Advocacy / Infrastructure Funding

June 4, 2020

House T&I Chair DeFazio Releases Five-year, $494 billion Surface Transportation Reauthorization Bill

By Matt Reiffer

On Wednesday House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio released the draft text of a five-year, $494 billion surface transportation reauthorization bill entitled the Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation In America Act (INVEST in America). The bill is based on the Moving Forward Framework infrastructure blueprint released this past January by the House Democratic leadership and includes funding for highway, transit, and rail programs that are set to expire in September.

The INVEST in America Act represents a 46% funding increase over current levels, including $319 billion for the Federal-aid highway program, $105 billion for transit programs, $5.3 billion for highway safety, and $60 billion for rail programs.

“Today is just the beginning of the conversation in the House, but we are one step closer to achieving the goal of a long-term recovery program for America,” said ACEC President and CEO Linda Bauer Darr. “The final bill must be bold enough to embrace new technologies and resilient design practices while funding the essential road, bridge and transit work that will pave the way for America’s economic reawakening.”

“Action on infrastructure is absolutely the right thing to do for this country at absolutely the right time,” said ACEC Board Chair Charles Gozdziewski, Chairman Emeritus of Hardesty and Hanover in New York City. “Infrastructure investment will drive our recovery and America’s engineering firms are ready to design the transportation networks necessary to meet the demands of the ‘new normal.’”

The following materials have been made available by the T&I Committee:

• Fact sheet (2 pages)
• Bill summary (10 pages)
• Section-by-section analysis (38 pages)
• Bill text (864 pages)

This bill is not bipartisan. It was developed solely by the Committee majority and did not include input from Ranking Member Sam Graves or Committee Republicans. The Committee plans to hold the markup of this bill on Wednesday, June 17.

“We urge House leaders on both sides of the aisle to focus on getting something done. We have come too far for the process to be sidelined by partisan division,” Darr said.

The bill does not include revenue provisions related to the long-term solvency of the Highway Trust Fund or paying for the additional funding in the bill. That is within the jurisdiction of the Ways & Means Committee, which is still discussing options internally and determining a path forward.

Matt Reiffer is ACEC Vice President Transportation Programs.

 

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