House Transportation Committee Unveils the INVEST in America Act, a Transformational Surface Transportation Bill

June 04, 2020

San Rafael, CA – Today, Representative Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael), a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, announced the unveiling of the Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation in America (INVEST in America) Act, a key component of the Moving Forward Framework that House Democrats released earlier this year to tackle the challenge of the climate crisis by building the clean transportation sector of the future and launching new initiatives to reduce greenhouse pollution and build more resilient communities. 

“A majority of U.S. infrastructure hasn’t been updated since the 1950’s. The transportation sector has failed to keep pace with the economy, the needs of communities, and a changing climate,” said Rep. Huffman. “Bridges, roads, and railways are crumbling across America at a time when it is more important than ever for us to remain connected. Vital highways in my own district are eroding into the ocean, risking lives and threatening to cut off communities. The INVEST in America Act is our generation's opportunity to replace the outdated systems of the past with smarter, safer, and more resilient infrastructure. With this bill we can meaningfully address carbon pollution, create good-paying jobs, and support U.S. manufacturing that will benefit Americans for generations.”

The INVEST in America Act will address the rising challenge of transportation emissions, a sector for reform in order to ensure economy wide net zero emissions and avoid catastrophic climate change. Rep. Huffman is also a member of the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis. The bill would establish a new greenhouse gas performance measure to track States’ progress in reducing carbon pollution from our highway system. In December 2019, Rep. Huffman introduced the Generating Resilient, Environmentally Exceptional National (GREEN) Streets Act, ambitious legislation to reduce emissions from the U.S. transportation sector by re-envisioning how we plan for, construct, and use our transportation system. 

Additionally, the bill authorizes nearly $500 billion over five years to address some of the country’s most urgent infrastructure needs, including:

  • Tackling the massive backlog of roads, bridges, and transit systems in need of repair and replacement 
  • Building resilient infrastructure that will withstand the impacts of climate change and extreme weather, including a new $6.25 billion pre-disaster mitigation program that can be used to relocate or construct alternatives to transportation infrastructure that are repeatedly damaged, like Last Chance Grade.
  • Significantly increasing funding levels for the Federal Lands Transportation Program, ensuring that public land agencies like the Park Service have the resources they need to maintain transportation infrastructure, as well as operate as good neighbors for gateway communities
  • Designing streets that are safer for all road users, including pedestrians and cyclists
  • Putting the U.S. on a path toward zero emissions from the transportation sector by prioritizing carbon pollution reduction, investing in public transit and the national rail network, building out fueling infrastructure for low- and zero-emission vehicles, and deploying technology and innovative materials
  • Sharply increasing funding for public transit options in urban, suburban and rural areas in order to integrate technology and increase routes and reliability with tools such as bus-only lanes and priority signaling 
  • Making transformational investments in Amtrak in order to create a robust, reliable rail system and to address long-neglected maintenance  throughout the country while also enhancing rail worker and passenger safety and helping communities address grade crossing issues  
  • Increases investments in ferry transportation benefiting San Francisco Bay communities
  • Improving access to Federal funding to help communities around the country undertake transformative projects that are smarter, safer, and made to last.

The Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will consider the INVEST in America Act at a Committee markup scheduled for Wednesday, June 17th. The current surface transportation authorization expires September 30th.

Additional information on the bill can be found at the following links: Bill Text; Factsheet; Bill Summary; Section-by-Section.

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