WASHINGTON, DC: Last week, 88 elected officials, organizations and businesses signed a letter written by Transportation for America commending the leaders of the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee for passing a new framework for the federal transportation program. The INVEST (Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation) in America Act takes a markedly different approach to transportation policy that would begin to put outcomes—instead of the price tag—at the center of our decision making.
“Chair Peter DeFazio has done a tremendous job crafting a new kind of transportation bill,” said Beth Osborne, director of Transportation for America. “Change on this scale is notoriously difficult to achieve, but the House T&I Committee pulled it off. We thank Chair DeFazio and the House T&I Committee for their work and urge the full House to pass the INVEST Act. We especially recognize the hard work of Representatives Jesús ‘Chuy’ García and Mike Gallagher in introducing and supporting an amendment to strengthen the maintenance requirement in the bill, respectively.”
Many of these same 88 signatories also signed a Transportation for America letter to Congress this past April urging the House T&I Committee to adopt important reforms—reforms that were ultimately included in the INVEST Act. Last week’s letter thanks Chair Peter DeFazio (OR-4) and Ranking Member Sam Graves (MO-6) for their efforts and expresses strong support for the INVEST Act, praising its efforts to finally place the highest priority on repairing U.S. roads, bridges and transit systems; saving lives; increasing access to jobs and services by all modes; and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
With federal transportation policy set to expire this September, the full House of Representatives will vote on the INVEST Act this week, which would represent a notable rewrite of our country’s transportation policy. The INVEST Act stands in sharp contrast to the long-term transportation bill passed by the Senate last July, America’s Transportation Infrastructure Act (ATIA). The ATIA pours billions of new dollars into the status quo of broken policy, overshadowing notable improvements like a climate title and Complete Streets requirements.
The full letter is available to view here.
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