WASHINGTON — Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chairman Sam Graves (R-MO) and the committee’s ranking member Rick Larsen (D-WA) are releasing the text of 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.
“I believe the BUILD America 250 Act is the most important surface transportation bill since President Eisenhower built the Interstate Highway System,” Graves said. “Like the America 250 celebration this year, this bill is not simply about honoring our past – it’s about moving forward and building upon the legacy of our nation’s infrastructure. I’m extremely proud of the historic level of investment in America’s bridges – at more than $50 billion, it’s the largest such investment in our history. And the BUILD America 250 Act ensures that electric vehicle owners begin paying their fair share for the use of our roads. The bill also makes smart and targeted reforms to our surface transportation programs, focuses on strengthening our core infrastructure system, drives innovation, bolsters safety, ensures states have the flexibility they need, and cuts red tape to get projects built faster. I want to thank Ranking Member Larsen and our subcommittee leaders for their strong partnership in developing this important legislation.”
BUILD America 250 Act
According to the bill, the BUILD America 250 Act – Building Unrivaled Infrastructure and Long-term Development for America’s 250th Act – 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 and provides the first ever autonomous commercial motor vehicle framework.
The bill also strengthens the Highway Trust Fund by ensuring all highway users pay their share for the use and improvement of the nation’s roads. As a result, the BUILD America 250 Act injects the Highway Trust Fund with its first new stream of revenue for infrastructure in over three decades.
Commitment to Bipartisan Lawmaking
“You can’t have a big-league economy with little-league infrastructure,” Larsen said. “The BUILD America 250 Act makes key investments in the nation’s transportation – from restoring aging bridges and repairing crumbling roads to building out safe, accessible transit and bike infrastructure. A commitment to bipartisan lawmaking means finding compromise; while this bill does not include every priority, I am committed to building on the last bipartisan infrastructure law by creating good-paying transportation jobs, growing the economy and safely transporting people and goods across the country by road and rail. Thank you to Chairman Graves for his partnership. I look forward to marking up this bill soon.”
To prepare for the BUILD America 250 Act, the Committee held numerous hearings throughout the last year and a half and solicited input, ideas, and priorities for consideration from all Members of the House and the broad infrastructure stakeholder community – over 11,000 individual policy requests were submitted in total.
Committee leaders plan to formally introduce the legislation soon, and at a later date, the Committee will announce further plans for a legislative markup of the bill, with the ultimate goal of sending legislation from Congress to the President’s desk before the current surface transportation authorization expires on Sept. 30.
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.
