On Friday, the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee introduced the INVEST in America Act, their version of the surface transportation bill. It looks great for bicycling and walking. Similar to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW) bill released last week, it includes programs and policies that promote bicycling and walking through significantly increased funding for active transportation infrastructure.
Update May 27, 2021: The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee passed their Surface Transportation Reauthorization Act of 2021 on a unanimous 20-0 vote. Congratulations to the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy for winning an amendment that adds $200 million per year over 5 years for their new Connecting America's Active Transportation (CAAT) grant program. The program would provide larger grants to local communities to help them built interconnected biking, walking and rolling networks.
For national news followers, it’s hard to open the paper (err - scroll Twitter) and not be bombarded with headlines about President Biden’s plans for infrastructure stimulus and the re-emergence of earmarks after a decade-long moratorium. We are paying close attention to these developments, however, our organization’s federal advocacy efforts remain focused on the reauthorization of a surface transportation bill.
Designated Projects, AKA Earmarks