In August, we sent a link to the Safe Routes to School community to ask questions about federal policy related to walking, bicycling, and Safe Routes to School and committed to answering them here on the blog. Do you have questions? Submit them here.
Questions are italicized. Answers are bulleted below.
“How does your analysis on Aug 10 jibe with DeFazio’s work?”
After a busy spring and summer working on legislation to reauthorize surface transportation spending, Congress is staring down a September 30th expiration date for current funding. Congress must reauthorize transportation spending or pass a short-term extension in order to maintain funding for transportation. Where things currently stand:
On Sunday, August 1, 2021, a bipartisan group of Senators released the final bill text for the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. This bill reauthorizes transportation funding through 2026 and incorporates priorities originally identified in President Biden’s American Jobs Act. It is currently being debated and amended on the Senate floor. We will continue to update this post as developments occur.
Two key points:
Last week the House of Representatives passed a five-year, $715 billion dollar transportation reauthorization bill called the INVEST in America Act. The bill includes significant increases in funding for Safe Routes to School, and reinstates the requirement for each state to have a full time Safe Routes to School Coordinator. On a broader level, it also increases funding for bicycling and walking overall, and has a stronger focus on Complete Streets and safety for vulnerable road users.
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.
It’s a new year, and it ushers in a host of new beginnings: the 117th Congress, the Biden Administration, and hopefully an end in sight to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. As people all around the world make New Year’s resolutions to improve themselves, we would like to share what we have resolved to work toward on the federal policy front this year.
Now that Election week is over, and Joe Biden has been declared the next President, we wanted to take a few minutes to look forward to 2021.