U.S. Reps. Sam Graves (R-MO) and Rick Larsen (D-WA), the respective chairman and ranking member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, announced the release of a bipartisan, five-year surface transportation reauthorization bill.
The legislation, the BUILD America 250 Act, Building Unrivaled Infrastructure and Long-term Development for America’s 250th Act, emphasizes moving people, goods, and freight across the country and provides the largest investment ever in America’s bridges, while focusing on proven surface transportation infrastructure programs and providing investment into passenger rail. Officials said the legislation would also improve rail safety, ensure transportation projects and programs are more efficient and provide the first ever autonomous commercial motor vehicle framework.
It also strengthens the Highway Trust fund by ensuring all highway users pay their share for the use and improvement of the nation’s road, injecting the first new revenue stream into the fund in more than 30 years.
“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 infrastructures. 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 committee leaders said they will introduce the legislation soon, and will announce further plans for a legislative markup of the bill at a later date, with the ultimate goal of sending legislation to the presidents’ desk for signature before the current surface transportation authorization expires at the end of September.
“You can’t have a big-league economy with little-league infrastructure,” Larsen. “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.”