Congress Weighs $580 Billion Transportation Infrastructure Bill

A proposed bill now working its way through Congress would provide up to $580 billion over the next five years to improve the U.S. transportation system.

In May, the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure released the Building Unrivaled Infrastructure and Long-Term Development (BUILD) for America’s 250th Act, H.R. 8870. The measure is a bipartisan surface transportation reauthorization bill that includes funding for the country’s roads, bridges, public transit, rail, and highway safety. Of the $580 billion, a total of $474.4 billion would be guaranteed funding from the Highway Trust Fund (HTF), a fund that supports roadway infrastructure projects and is financed primarily through gasoline and diesel fuel taxes. The remaining $106 billion would come from the federal government’s General Fund, subject to the availability of future appropriations.

Business advocacy groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, are supporting the bill because it would fund vital transportation infrastructure projects across the country. Additionally, the U.S. Chamber commended the bill’s inclusion of new fees on electric and hybrid vehicles to help support the HTF. Because these vehicles pay less or nothing in fuel taxes, they contribute less money, relative to their road use, to the maintenance of the road system than comparable gasoline-powered vehicles.

The U.S. Chamber is asking Congress to go even further by eliminating all existing federal user fees, including fuel taxes and the excise tax on commercial trucks and trailers. Instead, it said legislators should establish a fee based on vehicle weight regardless of powertrain type or fuel economy. “This model would ensure that all vehicles contribute equitably to the HTF — regardless of fuel type — as originally intended,” the U.S. Chamber wrote in a letter to legislators. “Additionally, it would lower the cost of commercial trucks, encourage the adoption of newer and safer vehicles, reduce costs for farmers, and place the HTF on a sustainable path.”

The bill passed out of committee on a 62-2 vote on May 22. The full House is expected to consider it sometime in June or July.