Five members of Washington state’s delegation in the U.S. House of Representatives recently introduced legislation that would ensure medium-size cities receive federal funding for surface transportation and infrastructure projects.
The Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development for Underfunded Projects (BUILD UP) Act would require a minimum of 30 percent of funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s BUILD grant program be awarded to cities with 10,000 to 75,000 residents.
The BUILD grant program awards federal funding to local surface transportation projects. Still, priority is given to large metropolitan areas, and medium-size cities often must delay or indefinitely postpone transportation projects.
The bill was introduced by Reps. Suzan K. DelBene (D-WA), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Derek Kilmer (D-WA), Rick Larsen (D-WA), and Kim Schrier (D-WA).
“As House Democrats develop a broad plan to rebuild our nation’s roads, bridges, transit systems, and other critical infrastructure, it’s critical that suburban cities and small towns don’t get left behind,” Jayapal said. “By driving badly-needed federal transportation funds to smaller cities and towns that have been neglected by existing federal transportation programs, the BUILD UP Act will help ensure cities … have the support they need to rebuild ages-old infrastructure.”
The BUILD program was formerly called the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery Act.