This week, the U.S. House Transportation Committee introduced the BUILD America 250 Act, a bipartisan, five-year surface transportation reauthorization bill that would authorize $580 billion for roads, bridges, transit, rail transportation and highway and motor carrier safety programs.
This bill would replace the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). Due to the election year schedule, the House will be racing the clock to get a bill through the committee, funding and leadership approvals, and then onto the House floor before Sept. 30 when key IIJA programs like Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) expire. This markup and amendment process is the first step towards long-term authorization.
What’s in BUILD America 250
A variety of infrastructure programming and policies from the proposed BASICS Act were included in the BUILD America 250 Act. Here are a few of the key provisions that could help Georgia cities.
- 25% of the Renewed and Increased Bridge Funding Will Go to Local Bridges In Section 1108, the bill authorizes formula and competitive programs to fund bridge improvement projects, and the program requires that states set-aside 25% of funds to fund locally owned bridge projects competitively. Under the formula program, the Federal share for locally owned bridges is 95%.
- Safe Streets Program for Local Safety Projects Continues In Section 1119, Safe Streets and Roads for All grant program is codified and guarantees five years of additional funding albeit at slightly lower overall funding levels. There will be more focus on implementation funding (as planning is reduced to 5%), and a 30% set aside for rural communities is added.
- Direct-to-Local Grants Remain for Key Transportation Needs For local communities, the IIJA provided many grant opportunities that helped to encourage core infrastructure development. Several key grants are continued from the IIJA, including Rail Crossing Elimination, PROTECT discretionary grants and Safe Streets.
Additionally, in Section 1124, a new Surface Transportation Accelerator Grant (STAG) discretionary program to fund surface transportation projects in local, regional, rural and urban communities would be established. Under the program, 50% of funding is for local and regional grants, 25% is for rural grants, and 25% is for urban grants.
The rural component sets a minimum grant amount of $5 million. The rural component also makes room for even the smallest of the small cities with a 5% set-aside for grants for eligible projects in small communities with a population of not more than 5,000.
View the House committee’s section-by-section summary of the bill.
What’s Next
GMA and the National League of Cities are monitoring the amendment process and are in close communication with Georgia’s congressional delegation.
We encourage Georgia cities to share their support for the bill with their member of Congress and urge timely passage. City officials can also use this opportunity to share their community’s transportation and infrastructure needs.
Reach out to Federal Relations Manager Molly McLoughlin for help contacting your member’s office or for questions about the legislation.