A five-year, $580 billion surface transportation bill advanced Friday after a 15-hour markup by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee that saw a handful of amendments relevant to bond-issuing transportation agencies.
The House science committee and energy and commerce committee last week also approved their sections of the Building Unrivaled Infrastructure and Long-term Development for America's 250th Act or
The
The municipal bond market now has its eye on the House Ways and Means Committee section, which may include raising the $30 billion private activity bond cap. Committee leaders have not given a timeline for the Ways and Means hearing.
Republican leaders have said they want to send the bill to the president's desk before the Sept. 30 expiration date.
The House T&I committee considered 160 amendments during Thursday's hours-long markup session and approved the bill with a
"It has been a long journey to get to this point," said Ranking Member Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., during the markup. "The BUILD America 250 Act is the product of months of negotiations, thousands of policy ideas," he said. "While the bill we are marking up today does not reflect everything I wanted ... there is still a lot to applaud."
Under the amended bill, airport authorities are eligible for Consolidated Rail Infrastructure & Safety Improvements or CRISI grants. Bus rapid transit projects are eligible for Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act loans, and train station modernization projects are now eligible for Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing loans.
The manager's amendment also makes the removal or modification of tunnels and the raising of bridges eligible for bridge formula funding.
The House science committee approved an amendment from Virginia Democrat Rep. Suhas Subramanyam that calls for a review of private toll roads based on a
The Build Act includes a provision to establish the first national regulatory guidelines for autonomous commercial trucks, an "AV framework that is important in ensuring we put safety and drivers first and hold manufacturers accountable as we chart a path forward in this new technology," Larsen said.
On the rail front, the bill would direct the Transportation Secretary to examine intercity passenger rail service and evaluate the feasibility of expanding service on specific routes. The bill includes some suggested routes: from Washington, D.C. to Florida; from New York City to Scranton, Penn.; from Los Angeles to San Diego and San Luis Obispo, an in Texas from Austin to San Antonio with an extension to Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico.
In related train news, the fiscal 2027 Department of Transportation budget would ban the use of federal funds for a high-speed rail system "that is the same or substantially similar" to the Texas Central Railway project. Last April, the DOT
The Build Act features significant permitting reforms, an electric vehicle fee that's the first new revenue for the Highway Trust Fund in decades, and repeals several climate-related programs established under the current infrastructure law.
It allocates roughly $580 billion over fiscal years 2027-2031, with $474.4 billion provided as Highway Trust Fund contract authority. The remaining $106 billion of the bill's funding would be subject to annual appropriations.
On the Senate side, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will review the highway, bridge and overall infrastructure programs as well as permitting; the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee will craft the safety text as well as passenger and freight rail programs; and the Senate Banking Committee will oversee the transit and light-rail portion. The Senate Finance Committee is in charge of the revenue and tax-related section.
Senate Finance Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and EPW Ranking Member Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., have already said they're opposed to EV fees.
