After more than 24 hours of debate in committee and the consideration of more than 175 amendments, an infrastructure spending bill will move to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Called the Investing for a New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation in America (INVEST in America) Act, the bill passed out of the House Committee for Transportation and Infrastructure on Thursday.
The infrastructure bill is a departure from previous surface transportation authorization bills because its emphasis lies on tackling the maintenance and repair backlog for the country’s roads, bridges, and transit systems while building smarter, safer infrastructure systems.
“For far too long, Congress has taken a pass on trying to solve the toughest problems plaguing our surface transportation system, allowing it to limp along and fall farther and farther behind the rest of the world. That all changes with the INVEST in America Act, transformational legislation that moves our country into a new era of smarter, safer, more resilient infrastructure that fits our changing economy and society,” said Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chair Peter DeFazio (D-OR). “I’m immensely grateful to my Committee colleagues who spent months doing the hard work on behalf of the American people to get us to this point, and I urge the rest of my colleagues in Congress to now join us in fighting for a new vision to rebuild our country. The time is now to fix our crumbling infrastructure, cut carbon pollution from the transportation sector, and create millions of good-paying jobs in urban, suburban, and rural communities.”
During the markup of the bill, the committee adopted 34 Republican amendments and 23 Democratic amendments. Republican committee members had previously expressed their disappointment that the bill was written by Democrats alone without any input from Republicans.
The committee said the bill will provide funding for critical infrastructure projects through long-term, sustainable funding. Additionally, strong Buy American provisions and labor protections would help create and maintain American jobs.
The bill authorizes nearly $500 billion over five years to address the backlog of maintenance and repair issues on American roads, bridges and other transportation systems, invest in and expand transit systems such as bus and rail, and increase the access local and state government have to federal funding.