Advocacy
House Passes First Infrastructure Test with Highway, Water Bill
The House of Representatives approved a $715 billion surface transportation and water infrastructure bill on Thursday in what Democrats see as an early step toward sweeping infrastructure legislation that Congress hopes to complete in September. In addition, a group of Democratic and Republican House members on Tuesday endorsed the bipartisan infrastructure framework crafted by senators and the White House.
The House passed an infrastructure bill Thursday that would direct more than $700 billion over five years for roads, railways, electric vehicles, and water, with Democrats set to use the policy to negotiate on a broader infrastructure package. The bill (H.R. 3684), passed in a largely party-line vote of 221-201, faced opposition from Republicans who criticized climate provisions and a lack of funding measures. The passage comes a week after a bipartisan group of senators and President Joe Biden agreed on a separate, nearly $1 trillion infrastructure framework that includes baseline spending.
“This bill stands on its own, and it’s a very substantial part of the American Jobs Plan,” Transportation and Infrastructure Chair Peter DeFazio (D-OR) told reporters last week. But combining the proposals and coming to an agreement on how to pay for the legislation will be a heavy lift. Several authorizing committees in both chambers have jurisdiction over infrastructure, with different ideas for how to implement policy. Adding to the urgency is a Sept. 30 deadline to reauthorize surface transportation programs, regardless of whether a larger infrastructure deal is cut. The transportation portion of the bill, totaling more than half a trillion dollars, would provide record spending levels for surface programs. DeFazio said the bill’s funding is close to what the Senate has proposed in its framework, with the exception of a disparity for spending on rail. The legislation would authorize an $8.3 billion program aimed at reducing carbon pollution, a $3 billion program to reconnect communities that were divided by highways, and significant funding for EV infrastructure.
The House measure also includes historic levels of investment for drinking and wastewater infrastructure. The legislation would authorize $53 billion over the next decade for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, and $40 billion through fiscal 2026 for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, which provides low-cost loan financing to communities for a range of water infrastructure projects.
The House adopted several amendments from Democrats to upgrade high-speed trains, including creation of an authority for rail in New England. Rail groups lauded the bill’s funding, but freight groups oppose manufacturing, safety, and labor provisions they say are unwarranted. Chair Peter DeFazio (D-OR) said he could see common ground between his plan and a separate infrastructure deal between the White House and a bipartisan group of senators, which proposed $81 billion in baseline and new spending for rail over five years. The House bill’s total for rail would be closer to $100 billion over that period. The House adopted an amendment from Seth Moulton (D-MA) to increase Passenger Rail Improvement, Modernization, and Expansion grants by $1 billion annually to about $6 billion per year. The new grants would fund projects that improve high-speed and intercity rail performance and connectivity.
*Article provided by WDBC advocacy consulting firm, Venn Strategies