AASHTO pushes US House vote on highway bill

From Transport Topics.

Congressional approval of a multiyear highway policy measure would enhance state transportation agencies’ ability to plan long term for infrastructure projects. That is the message from the organization representing the country’s departments of transportation.

Jim Tymon, executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, pressed federal lawmakers to clear a $1 trillion Senate-passed infrastructure bill. Included in that measure is a five-year reauthorization of a 2015 highway policy law.

House Democratic leaders have signaled the potential for voting on the infrastructure legislation as early as this week. To prevent funding disruptions, Congress extended the highway law’s authority through Dec. 3.

“It’s hard to go out there and commit to a project that’s going to take two or three years to build. That’s why it’s so important for Congress to get a long-term infrastructure bill done that provides states and localities with five or six years of funding predictability,” Tymon said Nov. 2 on C-SPAN. “This way, they can take on those large projects that the American people want us to be able to take on.”

Reacting to the federal highway law’s short-term extension, the group said: “AASHTO members need certainty to plan transportation projects to meet the needs of their communities and keep our economy moving, and the impact of these short-term extensions is not insignificant. Congress must pass the [Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act] immediately to lessen the harmful impacts that come from the lack of a long-term surface transportation bill.”

Alongside the infrastructure funding measure, House Democratic leaders say they intend to consider a nearly $2 trillion social infrastructure budget package. Both bills reflect significant aspects of President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better proposals on climate change and the social safety net. If passed by the House, the Senate would consider the budget measure via a fast-track reconciliation process.

As the House prepares to vote, intraparty negotiations in the Senate carry on. At a press conference Nov. 1, West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin (D) expressed concerns about the budget bill’s source of funding. He pointed to the need for a Congressional Budget Office cost estimate.

See the complete article online at Transport Topics.