It’s been a whirlwind week in Washington, D.C. for transportation as both the House and the Senate try to build momentum to pass much-needed reauthorization bills. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee unveiled their American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act (H.R. 7) on Tuesday at a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol Building on an unusually warm winter day.
The bill would reauthorize surface transportation programs for five years. The reforms included in the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act would consolidate nearly 70 duplicative programs, expedite project delivery, create a set of performance measures, and enhance the TIFIA grant program.
ASCE commends the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for advancing legislation to fund surface transportation programs. Read our letter to Chairman Mica.
Meanwhile, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is busy working to advance their two-year reauthorization bill. Right now, it is farther along in the process than the House bill, as the Senate Finance Committee identifies potential pay-fors. It seems that both the House and the Senate are hoping to take credit for completing a reauthorization bill during this session, and that is good news for transportation.
Another flurry of action surrounded the FAA reauthorization bill. After much deliberation between House and Senate leaders, there appears to be bipartisan support for a four-year FAA funding bill. The bill is expected to be voted on as early as tomorrow.
We are at the mark-up today on the House transportation reauthorization bill and will be ready to share additional details on the status of both bills tomorrow.