Every five years, Congress sets new rules for federal transportation spending. A new bill just emerged from the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and the best thing that can be said about it is, “it could have been worse.”
But it’s an objectively bad bill that Congress should reject—and instead come back next year, with a different Congress, and try again.
Big takeaways:
- It cuts transit by 20% and increases spending on highways by 8%
- It defunds and eliminates the following programs:
- Reconnecting Communities, which repairs the harm caused by highways through cities
- Neighborhood Access and Equity funding to expand Reconnecting Communities
- Healthy Streets, including tree planting and porous pavement to deal with heat islands
- Active Transportation Infrastructure Investment to connect and network walking and biking trails
- Carbon reduction, which, among other things, funded walkability
- The bill does not require the Administration to honor the grants awarded under the federal reauthorization. The Administration has not advanced a single major transit project and continues to freeze over $2.8 billion in competitive grants supporting affordable transportation options.
- The highway money is guaranteed, meaning it is disbursed without any further congressional action. In contrast, the transit money is subject to annual approval and monkey-wrenching by the current administration.
The bill did retain programs like Safe Streets for All and Transportation Alternatives. That was not guaranteed, given threats to eliminate all dollars for transit, walking, and biking.
But overall, the bill reflects a commitment to keep Americans tied to the fuel pump, even as gas prices rise to new heights.
Whether measured by affordability, accessibility, health, or pollution, this bill takes us backwards. We at America Walks will be asking for your help to urge Congress to reject this bill, and come up with a better plan for the future.
