Today, members of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) reintroduced the Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation in America (INVEST in America) Act.
T&I Committee Chair Peter DeFazio (D-Oregon), Chair of the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-District of Columbia) and Chair of the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Donald M. Payne Jr. (D-New Jersey) reintroduced the legislation.
The legislation is a $547 billion surface transportation reauthorization bill that the committee will consider during a markup next Wednesday, June 9. The price tag is up from the $494 billion cost of the INVEST in America Act introduced at this time last year.
The T&I Committee says this legislation offers a new approach to federal transportation policy by emphasizing fixing existing roads and bridges and making record investments in passenger rail, public transit, cycling and walking infrastructure, and zero-emission options, while creating safer, more connected communities.
“The benefits of transformative investments in our infrastructure are far-ranging: we can create and sustain good-paying jobs, many of which don’t require a college degree, restore our global competitiveness, tackle climate change head-on, and improve the lives of all Americans through modern infrastructure that emphasizes mobility and access, and spurs our country’s long-term economic growth,” Chair DeFazio said in a statement. “The INVEST in America Act puts a core piece of President Biden’s American Jobs Plan into legislative text—seizing this once-in-a-generation opportunity to move our transportation planning out of the 1950s and toward our clean energy future. Let’s get this done.”
This version of the INVEST in America Act includes $343 billion dedicated to roads, bridges, and safety projects; $109 billion for transit; and $95 billion for passenger and freight rail. This includes dedicating $32 billion for bridge funding to ensure bridges in communities of all sizes are safer, more reliable, and more resilient, the Committee says.
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SOURCE: House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
