The U.S. House of Representatives passed Thursday the INVEST in America Act, the $715 billion surface transportation re-authorization and water infrastructure bill.
The INVEST in America Act specifically includes Buy America standards designed to ensure that the work of modernizing infrastructure is conducted by American workers using American-made materials with a focus on fixing existing roads and bridges as well as record investments in transit, rail, rural and underserved areas, and drinking water and wastewater infrastructure.
More than $44 billion was added to fund passenger rail grant programs, EV charging, and infrastructure during the amendment process.
The legislation also provided for Member Designated Projects, which allowed House members to advocate for projects in their communities.
“The American people are sick and tired of potholes, getting stuck in traffic, delayed buses and slow trains, lead-tainted pipes and sewers that back up— the result of decades of underinvestment in our infrastructure, our communities, and our future,” U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR), chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, said. “By passing the INVEST in America Act today, the House took a bold and badly-needed step to build for the future, tackle the existential threat of climate change by modernizing our transportation systems to cut carbon pollution, and improve the lives of hundreds of millions of people.”