It’s Off to the Races on a House Highway & Transit Bill

Today, the chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure (T&I) Bill Shuster (R-PA) announced that his committee would be holding a mark-up of a surface transportation authorization bill on October 22.  The bill, text of which has not yet been finalized is titled, the Surface Transportation Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2015.  In making the announcement, Shuster noted that the bill would, “reform programs, refocus those programs on national priorities, provide more flexibility and certainty for state and local partners, and welcome innovation.”  The markup is set to begin at 10:00AM ET next Thursday and will be livestreamed here .

The announcement comes after legislative progress this summer by the U.S. Senate which passed the DRIVE Act  that provides three years of increased funding and six years of policy for federal road, bridge and transit programs.  This funding increase is supported by a large majority of Americans as demonstrated in a recent public survey by the motor club AAA.  The survey found that 70% of respondents believed that the federal government should invest more than it does now for roads, bridges and mass transit systems.  The survey also found that only 38% of Americans believe that Congress is taking the necessary steps to ensure that our roads, bridges and transit systems will meet the needs of the nation.

Please let your House members know you support them moving forward quickly on legislation that provides multi-year certainty and increased funding levels for highway and transit programs.