WASHINGTON — The BUILD America 250 Act is one step closer to becoming law after the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee (T&I), following a 14-hour legislative markup session, approved H.R. 8870 (BUILD America 250) – a bipartisan, five-year surface transportation reauthorization bill that invests in America’s roads, bridges, transit, rail transportation and highway and motor carrier safety programs.
According to T&I, BUILD America 250 emphasizes moving people, goods and freight safely and efficiently across the country. The bill provides “the largest ever investment in America’s bridges, focuses on proven surface transportation infrastructure programs, provides passenger rail investments and reforms, improves rail safety, ensures that transportation projects and programs are more efficient, encourages innovation, provides the first ever autonomous commercial motor vehicle framework and injects the Highway Trust Fund with its first new stream of revenue in over three decades.”
Building for the Future
“The purpose of the BUILD America 250 Act is right there in its name,” said Sam Graves (R-Mo.) T&I Committee chairman.” We are celebrating the 250th anniversary of our nation and the infrastructure that has helped form it, and this bill is about building the infrastructure we need for America’s future. This bill makes historic investments in our bridges and other critical infrastructure, reduces costs and delays in building, ensures states have the resources and flexibility they need, bolsters the Highway Trust Fund, fosters innovation, and provides a framework for safely integrating autonomous commercial motor vehicles onto our highways. I want to thank all the committee members on both sides of the aisle for the longs hours of debate they put in today on this vital legislation. I look forward to moving this bill on the House floor in the near future, and to working with the Senate to pass a final bill before the current law expires on Sept. 30.”
A Big-League Economy
“You can’t have a big-league economy with little-league infrastructure,” said Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), T&I Committee ranking member. “The BUILD America 250 Act will create good paying jobs while restoring aging bridges, repairing crumbling roads, and supporting safe, accessible rail, transit and bike infrastructure. My top priority this Congress was building on the momentum that the last bipartisan infrastructure law created for our transportation system and our economy and that’s exactly what the BUILD America 250 Act does. I want to thank chairman Graves for his partnership and all my colleagues on the committee for their input and support. I look forward to swift passage by the full House.”
American Trucking Associations (ATA)
“ATA commends chairman Graves, ranking member Larsen, and the House T&I Committee for taking action on a bold infrastructure proposal that will ensure our country maintains its dominant position as the world’s leading economy,” said Chris Spear, ATA president, CEO. “Our focus throughout this process has been to ensure that the final bill promotes a safe, efficient transportation system that is befitting the world’s greatest nation. This legislation fulfills that goal.”
According to Spear, all Americans have experienced the consequences of underinvestment in infrastructure. Traffic bottlenecks and record-high congestion cost the economy more than $109 billion, contributing directly to rising concerns about affordability. Expanding capacity and eliminating inefficiency will lower costs for consumers as well as spur the creation of new jobs.
“The robust funding for roads and bridges as well as dedicated funding for truck parking will support our essential work and the supply chain,” Spear said. “For the first time in decades, this bill would establish a new source of revenue for the Highway Trust Fund by requiring contributions from electric vehicles. Additionally, ATA welcomes the integration of commonsense policies that will enhance safety standards and promote strong driver qualifications. It is notable that this landmark highway bill is moving forward as the United States prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary. Our transportation system is a key source of our strength and cohesiveness, uniting Americans across vast distances. Modern roads, bridges and ports will keep trucking strong and rolling towards a bright future in the next quarter millennium.”
Key Pro-Trucking Provisions in the BUILD America 250 Act
Key Pro-Trucking Provisions in the BUILD America 250 Act for which ATA advocated include:
- Robust Investment in Roads and Bridges: $580 billion for our nation’s infrastructure is tangible proof that Congress understands how important the supply chain is. “This investment will help make our roads safer for drivers, help get goods to market faster and keep our economy moving,” ATA said.
- Truck Parking: $750 million over the next five years for the construction of new truck parking and conversion of existing property into additional parking spaces is a tremendous win. Drivers work to comply with federal regulations like hours of service requirements but are often forced to park in illegal and unsafe locations due to a lack of dedicated truck parking. This funding will help keep drivers, and the motoring public, more safe.
- Option to Equip: Preempts lawsuits that seek to impose liability for failing to equip motor vehicles beyond NHTSA safety standards. This is a critical step toward regulatory clarity and industry stability.
- Bathroom Access: Including the bipartisan Trucker Bathroom Access Act helps give drivers the dignity they deserve when they are working. Drivers servicing shippers and receivers should not be denied access to bathroom facilities, and this language makes sure they won’t be.
- Extension of Safe Driver Apprenticeship Program: “ATA was supportive of this program when it was included in IIJA, and we wholeheartedly endorse its extension,” ATA said. “Building a pathway for 18-to-20-year-olds to enter the industry is essential to meeting the demand for safe and qualified drivers today and in the future.”
- Electric Vehicle Fees: “For too long, electric vehicles have not paid their fair share into the Highway Trust Fund as a result of not paying the federal fuel tax,” ATA said. “This legislation takes an important step in making sure that funding that goes into the Trust Fund is done on an equitable basis with all road users paying for maintenance and upkeep of our highways.”
- Tax Parity: Federal law already prohibits state governments from levying gross receipts taxes on interstate air cargo transportation, air passenger transportation, and bus travel. ATA supported language that extends this same treatment to the trucking industry, affording trucking the same tax protections already enjoyed by airlines and bus companies.
- Household Goods: The inclusion of the Household Goods Shipping Consumer Protection Act is a win for both consumers and the moving and storage industry. This bipartisan bill helps consumers find reputable moving and storage companies and avoid being scammed, while also helping those same companies protect themselves from bad actors that steal their company name in order to commit fraud.
- Fraud Detection Tools: Section 8 of the SAFER Transport Act was included in the bill and requires FMCSA to implement automated systems to flag fraudulent activity in registration systems. The language also empowers FMCSA to rescind the operating authority of motor carriers and brokers who endeavor to register using fraudulent documentation.
- Autonomous Vehicles: ATA has been a strong voice calling for a national framework for autonomous commercial vehicles. This legislation directs DOT to create performance-based safety requirements, ensuring that adoption of AVs is done with safety at the forefront.
- Stinger Steered Automobile Transporters: Including the CARS Act provides a narrow weight tolerance that provides temporary relief during trips for fully-laden stinger steered automobile transporters. There are roughly 14,000 “stingers” nationwide that move automobiles short distances from rail heads to dealerships. Stingers are bridge formula compliant and would revert to a weight under 80,000 pounds once the first vehicle is unloaded.
- Warning Flags: The bill includes H.R. 8673, which exempts stinger-steered combinations from a requirement to include warning flags on projecting loads. This addresses a redundant requirement without compromising safety because the reflective nature of automobile bumpers serve the same purpose as a warning flag.
- Axle Weight Tolerance: The bill includes the bipartisan VARIANCE Act. This language allows for a 10% axle weight enforcement tolerance for dry bulk vehicles, accounting for load distribution changes when the vehicle brakes and accelerates. “This commonsense language will improve the efficiency of dry bulk carriers across the country,” ATA said.
- Transportation of Lithium Batteries: Requires drivers and carriers hauling lithium-ion battery mega packs in cargo transport units to obtain a hazardous materials endorsement on their CDL or register as a hazmat motor carrier with PHMSA. This loophole has created widespread misconceptions in the carrier community, resulting in unqualified carriers and drivers accepting these high-risk shipments at reduced rates, often without proper training or safety programs.
- Connecting Veterans with Trucking Jobs: The bipartisan TRANSPORT Jobs Act is included in this legislation, directing federal agencies to develop a plan to address barriers in transportation and supply chain occupations for separating and retiring service members.
- Promoting New Entrant Safety Audits: Directs an important review of the FMCSA New Entrant Safety Assurance program, which will help Congress and the agency make reforms to ensure that only safe trucking companies enter the industry.
- Cleaning Up CDL Schools: The bill includes language directing FMCSA to remove noncompliant training providers from the Training Provider Registry within 90 days. This language will help ensure that people working to get their CDL are receiving the training necessary to operate in a safe fashion.
- Hair Testing: Directs DOT to recognize hair testing as an approved drug testing method within one year of HHS issuing final guidelines—a major step toward modernizing driver screening and improving safety.
- Access to Performance History Data: The bill includes the Motor Carrier Safety Screening Modernization Act, which allows motor carriers to access safety records for prospective and current drivers. Inclusion of this language gives carriers better oversight of driver records to make sure safety is accounted for.
- Cargo Theft: Building on recent successes in combating supply chain theft and fraud, ATA supports language in the bill creating a Cargo Theft Advisory Committee. This committee will provide recommendations to DOT on ways to prevent these crimes.
- Prevent Bridge Strikes: Including the Bridges Not Bumpers Act creates a DOT working group to develop best practices to reduce instances of bridge strikes.
- Block Congestion Pricing: Eliminates the Congestion Relief Program, which authorized congestion pricing on Interstates for states that received a grant under the program.
- Modernizing Environmental Reviews: Streamlines DOT’s environmental review process by designating a single lead agency, requiring biennial reviews to improve efficiency, and setting clearer timelines and page limits under NEPA. It also directs DOT to regularly update and expand categorical exclusions to accelerate project delivery.
- Highway Safety Program Reform: Consolidates national priority safety programs while maintaining focus on six core national priority programs: occupant protection, impaired driving, distracted driving, motorcyclist safety, non-motorist safety, and speeding. States exceeding fatality thresholds must target funding accordingly, while those below thresholds gain greater flexibility.
- Freight Broker Registration: Requires DOT to issue a final rule implementing requirements on experience and qualifications for freight brokers and freight forwarders to register.
- Consumer Protection Improvements: Requires DOT to implement GAO recommendations to improve the National Consumer Complaint Database. This will improve transparency and enforcement and is particularly important for the household goods sector.
- Cabotage Study: Directs DOT to partner with the National Academies and the Transportation Research Board on a comprehensive study of the safety and economic impacts of cabotage, helping inform future policy decisions to crack down on lawbreakers and protect responsible carriers.
- ELD Oversight: Strengthens oversight of electronic logging devices by improving certification verification processes, requiring cross-checks against revoked devices, and establishing a public website listing compliant and non-compliant ELDs.
- Freight Mobility: Enhances the National Multimodal Freight Network by emphasizing the need to address freight mobility and bottlenecks and expanding eligible projects to include connections to water storage and inland maritime port facilities.
Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA)
“OOIDA commends the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure for passing the BUILD America 250 Act, the most pro-trucker highway bill in recent memory,” said Todd Spencer, OOIDA president. “OOIDA’s advocacy played a critical role in securing several priorities in this bipartisan effort including a $750 million investment in truck parking, guaranteed restroom access for truckers at shipping facilities, and a ban on predatory leasing schemes. Truck drivers are happy to see lawmakers recognize their essential role in our economy and we encourage the bill’s swift passage both on the floor and in the Senate.”
U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson
U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) voted to “invest in America’s critical transportation and infrastructure programs and protect American infrastructure from Chinese spy technology,” according to a press release from Johnson’s office. Several of Johnson’s priorities were included in the Act, which passed the T&I with a bipartisan 66-2 vote.
“America’s roads, bridges, and railways are among our most important assets,” Johnson said. “People use roads every day to get to and from work, school, or the doctor. For others, the roads are their office – they spend hours each day hauling goods across the country. Roads are critical to community life, the supply chain and our national security. The BUILD America 250 Act provides a strong investment in our transportation system to keep America moving and gives states the driver’s seat to address their unique needs.”
South Dakota Trucking Association (SDTA)
“The South Dakota Trucking Association applauds the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee for advancing the BUILD America 250 Act,” said Christine Erickson, SDTA president. “A long-term, sustainable surface transportation bill is critical to keeping freight moving safely and efficiently across South Dakota and the nation. Investments in our roads, bridges, and supply chain infrastructure support economic growth, strengthen rural connectivity, and ensure the trucking industry can continue delivering for American families and businesses.”
Click here to read the bill in full.
Dana Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has been featured in multiple newspapers, books and magazines across the globe. She is currently based in the Atlanta, Georgia, area.
