On July 1, 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives passed major infrastructure legislation, H.R. 3684, the INVEST (Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation) in America Act, on a largely partisan 221-201 vote. The roughly $715 billion, five-year surface-transportation and water-infrastructure bill includes authorizations for federal highway, transit and safety programs, strategies to address climate change and provisions to repair bridges and roads.
While two Republicans voted in favor of the legislation, most of the Republican caucus characterized the bill as “deeply flawed,” due to the inclusion of “ineffective” spending that would harm rural Americans while placing a focus on issues that are not considered core infrastructure policies. House Democrats instead touted climate-focused provisions as policies that will make “bold investments” in the United States’ ability to innovate in the transportation sector. Given the partisan nature of the bill, the path toward reauthorizing the already-extended surface-transportation law before it expires on September 30, 2021, is uncertain.
During debate and consideration of H.R. 3684, representatives proposed more than 200 amendments covering a range of policy areas. Representatives Salud Carbajal (D-CA), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) and Scott Peters (D-CA) offered an amendment, which the House adopted, that is of particular interest to TCIA members. This amendment, which is found in section 1315 of the House-passed bill, allocates money to State Secretaries of Transportation to award grants to eligible entities enabling them to “carry out activities to benefit pollinators on roadsides and highway rights of way.” In pursuing a grant, applicants must detail past or future plans to implement practices that fulfill the goals of the program, including “mechanical tree and brush removal” on roadsides and highway rights of way as well as “expert training or assistance on pollinator-friendly practices,” including “native-plant identification.”
Notwithstanding House passage of the bill, the Senate is unlikely to consider H.R. 3684 as a stand-alone measure. However, lawmakers may incorporate portions of the legislation into a broader infrastructure package, which a bipartisan group of senators and President Biden are continuing to negotiate. Those senators and President Biden announced a broad yet agreed-to framework for the package in late June. The framework would cost an estimated $1 trillion over five years, including $579 billion in new spending, and would fund “traditional” core infrastructure priorities such as roads and highways, bridges, drinking water, broadband, public transportation, airports, passenger and freight rail and investments in the resilience of physical and natural systems.
Proposed sources of funding for this framework include, among other possibilities, reducing the IRS tax gap, redirecting unused unemployment-insurance-relief funds, repurposing unused pandemic-relief funds, a strategic-petroleum-reserve sale and public-private partnerships, private-activity bonds, direct-pay bonds and asset recycling for infrastructure investment. Lawmakers and the administration have yet to release the actual text of the package, however.
In addition to the aforementioned bipartisan infrastructure agreement, Democrats are developing a separate piece of legislation incorporating “human-infrastructure” components of President Biden’s American Families Plan. The “human-infrastructure” elements of this bill are likely to include provisions targeted at supporting childcare, improving education and addressing climate change. This bill is expected to be sweeping, impacting diverse policy areas outside of what is considered “traditional infrastructure.” One such proposal that may be included in the bill is the organized-labor-backed PRO Act, which would end right-to-work laws in 27 states and generally includes many labor priorities. However, the final version of this bill could look much different than the initial proposal, as there still needs to be agreement among Senate Democrats and Senate parliamentary staff.
What’s next?
Pursuit of a bold investment in both traditional and human infrastructure has disrupted lawmakers’ traditional surface-transportation reauthorization process and may bleed into Congress’ regularly scheduled August recess. While the Senate Budget Committee agreement on a $3.5 trillion budget number for a human-infrastructure bill is a notable development, a more significant step is the eventual release of the legislative text of these two infrastructure packages, so stakeholders can get a clear look at exactly what will be in the bills. TCIA will keep members apprised of next steps in the process as they unfold.
Basil Thomson is a senior associate with Ulman Public Policy, TCIA’s Washington, D.C.-based advocacy and lobbying partner.
Want to know more? Email Aiden O’Brien, TCIA’s advocacy & standards manager, at aobrien@tcia.org to continue the conversation.
