FAST Act Summary Part One: The Funding
December 06, 2015
This is the first in a series of summaries over the next few weeks on the contents of the newly-passed five-year federal surface transportation authorization law, Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act. The next sections will focus on the policy changes to highways, transit and federal passenger rail programs. The backbone of federal transportation funding......
Obama Set to Sign 5 Year, $305 Billion Transportation Bill
December 04, 2015
Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate both approved a five-year, $305 billion highway, transit and railway authorization bill. The overwhelming, bipartisan vote was 359-65 in the House and 83-16 in the Senate. President Obama is expected to sign the bill into law later on today. Thank you, infrastructure supporters, for contacting your......
Conference Committee Meets on Highway & Transit Bill
November 19, 2015
Yesterday, the joint House & Senate conference committee on the surface transportation authorization legislation met in what will likely be its only public meeting before the looming December 4 deadline to finalize work on a bill. The conference committee chairman, Rep. Bill Shuster (R-PA) kicked-off the meeting by stating, “There is plenty of common ground......
Tell Congress to Go Big on Transportation
November 17, 2015
The House and Senate are currently meeting to decide a big question when it comes to the future of the nation’s surface transportation program: Should funding levels be increased in order to improve and modernize the nation’s roads, bridges and transit system, or should funding levels stay flat for the next six years while the......
Five Year Highway & Transit Bill with Funding Increases Better Option
November 16, 2015
Last week, transportation stakeholders sent a letter to the House and Senate surface transportation conference committee in support of a robust five year highway and transit bill that would increase investment levels. The House-passed bill includes a $40 billion offset which could help increase investment levels if the duration of the bill were reduced from......
House Passes Six-Year Highway & Transit Bill
November 06, 2015
Yesterday, newly-minted House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) shepherded through his first piece of major legislation with bipartisan passage of a six-year, $325 billion surface transportation reauthorization bill. The Surface Transportation Reauthorization & Reform (STRR) Act of 2015......
House Readies for Action on Surface Transportation Bill
October 29, 2015
Yesterday, Congress enacted a short-term extension of current highway and transit program authority before the looming deadline of October 29. The current authorization and solvency of the federal Highway Trust Fund will now expire on November 20, which gives Congress about three more weeks to conclude a few important remaining steps in the process of......
House Unveils Surface Transportation Bill
October 19, 2015
On Friday, the U.S. House of Representatives’ Transportation & Infrastructure Committee unveiled a six-year surface transportation reauthorization bill. The bipartisan legislation, titled, the Surface Transportation Re-authorization and Reform Act (STRRA) of 2015, contains three years of flat-level funding for highway and transit programs and will be marked-up......
Water Infrastructure Tested as Transportation Funding Deadline Approaches
October 16, 2015
Flash floods, water main breaks and lingering damage from dam failures in South Carolina due to flooding have drenched the news headlines this week. Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, the House is scrambling to come up with a plan for reauthorizing the surface transportation bill before the Oct. 29 deadline. Yesterday, the House Committee on Transportation......
It’s Off to the Races on a House Highway & Transit Bill
October 14, 2015
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......
America Scores a D+
@YourCongressPerson
The 2017 Infrastructure Report Card gives our nation a D+ across 16 infrastructure categories #InfrastructureMatters
Fix the Trust Fund
@YourCongressPerson
#FixTheTrustFund to put us on a road to better transportation! #InfrastructureMatters