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By Cecile Entleitner, Associate, Blakey & Agnew
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, it had been apparent that 2020 wouldn't be an ordinary year for infrastructure funding and policy. With the current surface transportation authorization, the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act), expiring on September 30 as well as a presidential election in November, lawmakers were already in for a challenge. Of course, the global pandemic and its drastic impact on the supply chain had not been anticipated, but have added a sense of urgency to address new and existing infrastructure challenges. Stakeholders have called on Congress to act quickly by passing a robust, multi-year reauthorization package to ensure sufficient and reliable infrastructure funding to meet the transportation system's current needs as well as prepare for future demands. In recent weeks, Congress has taken steps to map out a road to economic recovery, including its intersection with reauthorization legislation.
On June 3, House Democrats of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee introduced the Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation in America (INVEST in America) Act. The $495 billion surface transportation reauthorization bill is divided in two to provide transportation infrastructure funding over the next five years. The first portion provides a one-year extension of existing highway and transit programs using fiscal year 2020 funding levels as authorized by the FAST Act, with a few changes to provide supplemental funding and increased flexibility for state and local governments to mitigate the fiscal effects of COVID-19. The second portion of the package provides funding authorization for fiscal years 2022-2025 and includes more significant changes by revising several existing programs and creating new ones. This structure could allow Congress to advance a short-term extension of existing programs in the event policymakers are unable to pass a long-term package prior to September 30th.
The INVEST in America Act encompasses a broad scope of infrastructure investments, incorporating traditional surface transportation infrastructure as well new technologies and environmental provisions. Missing from the bill are any new funding sources to pay for the proposal, these will need to be identified by the House Ways & Means Committee before it can be finalized.
The proposed legislation contains several changes to current freight programs and also establishes some new programs that stand to benefit goods movement. Among other provisions, the proposal would reauthorize the INFRA grant program for one year, providing $1 billion for FY21 and increasing the aggregate funding cap on non-highway projects. Starting in FY22, INFRA would be replaced by the Projects of National and Regional Significance grant program – those of you who have been following transportation since SAFETEA-LU will remember "PNRS." PNRS would be authorized at $9.05 billion over four years for large highway, freight, and transit projects. Over $8.6 billion would be distributed to states through the National Highway Freight Program, the freight formula program established by the FAST Act. This funding will be fully eligible to multimodal projects as the bill eliminates the current
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cap on non-highway investments. Further, the INVEST in America Act provides increased funding for the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements grant program, grade crossing separation grants, and grants to construct and improve truck parking facilities. The bill also contains a provision that would delay the implementation of FMCSA's new hours of service final rule until a thorough review of its safety impacts has been completed.
The INVEST in America Act is one component of the House Democrats' broader Moving Forward Framework, which was previewed in January. House T&I Republican leadership released a statement in response to the bill expressing their disappointment in having been left out of the bill's development and opposition to several provisions within the proposal. They did, however, reiterate their desire to move forward with a reauthorization bill that addresses bipartisan priorities.
Across Capitol Hill, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) last July unanimously approved their $294 billion bipartisan proposal titled, America's Transportation Infrastructure Act. The legislation has not yet been brought to the Senate floor as it still requires input from additional committees with jurisdiction over surface transportation to incorporate safety and rail provisions as well as the all-important funding.
In early June, the Senate EPW Committee and Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held separate hearings to examine the impacts of COVID-19 on surface transportation, the supply chain, and the industry's workforce as well as recommended recovery strategies. During the hearings, Senators and witnesses emphasized the importance of a long-term surface transportation reauthorization bill, providing increased funding, flexibility, and reliability for infrastructure investments. They discussed various funding mechanisms, such as fuel tax increases, vehicle-miles-traveled fees, and the use of deficit financing, though some advised delaying any tax or fee increases until at least 2021 to allow time for pandemic recovery first. Senators and witnesses also called for the implementation of additional transportation workforce safety provisions, including industry-wide sanitation and social distancing standards and ensuring access to COVID-19 testing and personal protective equipment for frontline workers.
In a year full of new challenges and uncertainty, this much remains true: the calendar continues to turn and September 30 is just around the corner.
Blakey & Agnew, LLC is a public affairs and
communications consulting firm based in
Washington, DC.
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