Dear CAGTC Members,
On January 29, House Democrats released their infrastructure framework which outlines a five-year investment totaling $760 billion ($434 billion of which would be dedicated to highway and transit programs). The framework includes both surface transportation reauthorization priorities as well as other infrastructure proposals, some of which have already been introduced or passed in the House as stand-alone bills. The policy framework is a collaborative effort between House Democrats of the Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure; Energy and Commerce; and Ways and Means.
On January 28, CAGTC participated in a briefing offered by House Democrats on the proposal. During the briefing, staff and House T&I Chairman DeFazio offered a timeline of releasing legislative text sometime before June. This proposal is being viewed as an infrastructure package and reauthorization proposal rolled into one and a communication to Congressional leadership of what is needed to modernize American infrastructure. Currently, there is no pay for to achieve the funding levels outlined by the Democrats’ proposal, but they are looking forward to working with the Ways & Means Committee to identify funding. House T&I is interested in garnering letters and statements of support. If your agency is interested in doing so, please let us know and we can put you in touch with the correct people on the committee staff.
Please find some key information on the framework below:
- The plan does not include legislative text, information on specific programs, or funding mechanisms, but does provide policy directions and funding goals.
- The framework focuses on three main priorities: environmental provisions, safety enhancements, and bringing infrastructure assets into a state of good repair.
- $760 billion investment over five years (FY2021-FY2025) in infrastructure including: roads, bridges, transit systems, railways, airports, ports, inland waterways, wastewater and drinking water systems, brownfields, and broadband. Of particular interest to CAGTC members, this includes:
- $434 billion over five years for highway & transit programs, including:
- $319 billion for “transformative highway investments,” which includes among other things:
- Funding for major projects of national and regional significance “with focused eligibility criteria and reduced Secretarial discretion over project selection.”
- Investment in multimodal freight options: providing “greater opportunity for States to invest in the multimodal movement of freight by increasing funding caps under existing programs.”
- Funding for a national pilot program to test the viability of user fees (including a VMT fee).
- (Separate from the $434 billion for highways & transit programs, the Energy & Commerce portion of the plan also includes $1.5 billion for electrical vehicle charging network infrastructure.)
- $319 billion for “transformative highway investments,” which includes among other things:
- $55 billion over five years for “transformative rail investments,” including those in Amtrak, intercity/commuter passenger rail, and other types of rail infrastructure investments.
- $30 billion for airport and airway infrastructure.
- $19.7 billion of revenue from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund will be invested. According to the framework, this accounts for annual collections as well as the balance in the HMTF. The number relies on a CBO estimate that the HMT will collect an additional $10.2 billion in revenue over the next five years, plus the estimated $9.5 billion current balance in the HMTF. (This provision already passed the House in October 2019.)
- $10 billion for water resources development projects, $7 billion of which will be directed to water resource development projects including flood control, navigation and environmental restoration projects that have been previously approved by the Corp and authorized by Congress. And the remaining $3 billion will be directed toward Inland Waterway navigation construction and rehabilitation projects.
- $434 billion over five years for highway & transit programs, including:
The full framework can be found here, the press release here, and a fact sheet here.
House T&I Republicans responded by stating they look forward to bipartisan infrastructure policy discussions and released their own list of priorities with a focus on reauthorization principles. These include: addressing Highway Trust Fund solvency, innovative technologies, project delivery streamlining, investments in rural transportation networks, prioritizing current federal surface transportation programs, and ensuring state flexibility. The full press release by T&I Ranking Member Graves (R-MO) and Highways and Transit Subcommittee Ranking Member Davis (R-IL) can be found here.
Thank you,
Cecile
Cecile Entleitner
Manager, Member Communications & Policy
Coalition for America’s Gateways and Trade Corridors
1625 K Street NW
Suite 1100
Washington, DC 20006
tradecorridors.org
(202) 828-9100