On Wednesday, the Chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-Oregon), released text of the Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation in America (INVEST in America) Act. The Committee will consider the INVEST in America Act at a markup scheduled for Wednesday, June 17th. The current surface transportation authorization expires September 30th. The INVEST in America Act, authorizes nearly $494 billion over five years to address some of the country’s most urgent infrastructure needs including $319 billion for highways, $105 billion for transit and $60 billion for rail. Notably for RCRC, the bill also creates a new nationwide Vehicle-Miles Traveled pilot program and pushes states toward making their current pilot programs permanent.
The bill is part of the Moving Forward Framework that Democrats in the House of Representatives released in January that would spend upwards of $760 billion on infrastructure. Following Wednesdays’ bill release, Republicans noted that they had not been included in the drafting process. House Republicans released their infrastructure principles in January, which included state flexibility, rural infrastructure, and a solvent Highway Trust Fund, all of which were not addressed in the Democrats’ INVEST in America Act.
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