Breaking Down the BUILD America 250 Act
Kaumo talks about the next steps the bill will take before it becomes law, what’s in the BUILD America 250 Act, and what the surface transportation reauthorization bill means to members of the ACPA.
Last week, following a 14-hour legislative markup, the T&I Committee approved H.R. 8870, the BUILD America 250 Act — a bipartisan, five-year surface transportation reauthorization bill aimed at investing in the nation’s roads, bridges, transit systems, passenger rail and highway safety programs.
The legislation would authorize major federal investments in surface transportation infrastructure while emphasizing freight mobility, project delivery reform, rail safety and innovation. Committee leaders say the legislation would deliver the largest federal bridge investment in U.S. history, expand passenger rail funding, shorten project delivery timelines and establish the nation’s first autonomous commercial motor vehicle framework. The bill also seeks to strengthen the Highway Trust Fund with its first new revenue stream in more than 30 years.
About the Author
Gavin Jenkins, Head of Content
Head of Content
Gavin Jenkins is an award-winning journalist based in Pittsburgh. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, VICE, Narrative.ly, Prevention, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and Beijing Review.
In 2020, two stories he wrote for Pitt Med Magazine earned three Golden Quill Awards from the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania. “Surviving Survival” won Excellence in Corporate, Marketing and Promotional Communications – Written, Medical/Health, while “Oct. 27, 2018: Pittsburgh’s Darkest Day, and the Mass Casualty Response” won Excellence in Written Journalism, Magazines – Medical/Health, as well as the Ray Sprigle Memorial Award: Magazines, a Best in Show award.
After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown in 2003, he covered sports for the Bedford Gazette, in Bedford, Pa., and the Martinsville Bulletin, in Martinsville, Va. In 2006, he returned to Pittsburgh to write for Trib Total Media. Based out of the Kittanning Leader Times, he worked for the Trib for two years, and then he moved to Shenzhen, China, to teach English and freelance. After two years in China, he earned an MFA in nonfiction from the University of Pittsburgh.
When he's not at work, he's usually playing with his border-collie mix, Bob.