The Elections and Transportation in 2021
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.
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.
Last week, Congress passed a short-term extension to funding for all federal agencies, giving them until December 11, 2020 to reach a deal on funding for the rest of 2021. As part of that bill, Congress also included a one-year extension of current transportation law and funding (the FAST Act), through September 2021.
Unfortunately, the gains for active transportation and safety for people biking and walking that we won in the Senate America’s Transportation Infrastructure Act of 2019 and the House INVEST Act are at risk. The Senate has not moved its bill the rest of the way through the Senate, and it still lacks the transit, safety and funding titles.
Since our last federal policy blog two weeks ago covering Committee action, the House transportation bill, the INVEST Act, has expanded and moved forward. As a reminder, the INVEST Act includes an estimated $7 billion over four years for active transportation projects and improving safety for people biking, walking, and rolling, plus many strong policy changes. Given this, 32 national organizations joined with the League of American Bicyclists, American Heart Associat
Over the course of 24 hours spread over two days, the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee under the leadership of Chairman DeFazio (D-OR) considered amendments to the INVEST in America Act, which is the House version of the surface transportation reauthorization bill. Some members were in the Committee room, spaced out for safety, and others Members participated via webcam, while audience members watched via YouTube.
Last week, Congress passed the CARES Act, which was the third in a series of new laws aimed at addressing the wide-ranging impact of Coronavirus. The $2.2 trillion bill included a series of emergency relief measures addressing people, affected industry, the healthcare system, and more.
We are pleased to announce that Congressman Anthony Brown (D-MD) has joined with seven other House Democrats (Reps. Brownley-CA, Espaillat-NY, Lipinski-IL, Cohen-TN, Huffman-CA, Titus-NV, and Carson-IN) to introduce the Safe Routes to School Expansion Act, HR 5891.
The legislation proposes making several improvements to the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP), which is funded at nearly $2.4 billion per year. The bill would: