House Democrats Introduce Surface Reauthorization Legislation

Early last week, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's Democratic leadership released a five-year, $494 billion highway reauthorization bill. The committee expects to hold a virtual markup on the legislation on June 17; Chairman DeFazio has indicated he expects Democratic leadership to provide floor time so that the House can vote on the bill, potentially before or just after the July 4th recess.

Here are some of the highlights from the 864-page bill:

• $319 billion for highways, $105 billion for transit, $60 billion for rail;
• $28 billion investment in bridge repair and replacement;
• New greenhouse gas emissions performance measures for states;
• Delays new policy implementation for one year to allow states to recover from COVID;
• Expands Vehicle Miles Traveled pilot projects;
• Innovative project delivery incentives for projects using innovative materials or processes; and
• Program to fund resilience and emergency evacuation route projects.

NRMCA Government Affairs staff is reviewing the legislation and will report on specific policies impacting the ready mixed concrete industry. You can read the bill here, a summary, a fact sheet, and a section-by-section explanation of the bill. Its prospect as introduced is dim. There is significant Republican frustration with the manner in which the bill was drafted; GOP members said they were not consulted or involved in the crafting of the bill. Democratic staff briefed Republican staff only after holding consultations and briefings with stakeholders and other interest groups. You can read the Republican statement here and the Republican’s infrastructure principles here. Regardless, House Democrats will likely pass the bill out of committee and the full House before entering negotiations with the Senate. It’s expected that the Senate will bundle its surface reauthorization and water resources bills and pass them in the next few months.

For more information, contact Andrew Tyrrell at atyrrell@nrmca.org.