U.S. House Committees take action on infrastructure and financing options

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BlogOn January 29, the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, in conjunction with Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House majority leadership, unveiled a five-year, $760 billion infrastructure proposal for FY 2021 through 2025.U.S. House Committees take action on infrastructure and financing options
- House Democrats released their “Moving America and the Environment Forward” framework, a $760 billion infrastructure proposal
- The framework would roll a surface transportation reauthorization into a package with other infrastructure legislation that would fund roads, transit, rail, aviation, ports, broadband, wastewater and drinking water projects
- U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means held a hearing to consider financing options for the framework, including reinstating advanced refunding bonds and maintaining the tax-exempt status of municipal bonds
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Blog
U.S. House Committees take action on infrastructure and financing options
On January 29, the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, in conjunction with Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House majority leadership, unveiled a five-year, $760 billion infrastructure proposal for FY 2021 through 2025. The “Moving America and the Environment Forward” framework would roll a surface transportation reauthorization into a package with other infrastructure legislation that would fund roads, transit, rail, aviation, ports, broadband, wastewater and drinking water projects.
While the proposal does not contain actual bill text, the plan does provide a comprehensive outline of House Democratic leaders’ vision for an infrastructure package. Legislative text is expected in spring 2020. NACo published a comprehensive analysis of the framework, which can be viewed here.
Top level funding amounts provided in the framework include:
- Surface Transportation: $434 billion; $129 billion increase over FAST Act, including:
- Federal Highway Administration (FHWA): $319 billion, $93 billion increase over FAST Act levels; $32 billion increase over S. 2302
- Federal Transit Administration (FTA): $105 billion, $44 billion increase over FAST Act
- Federal Railroad Administration (FRA): $55 billion, $44.6 billion increase over FAST Act
- Airports: $30 billion, currently authorized at $97 billion over FY 2019 – 2023 under the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-254)
- Ports: $19.7 billion
- Water Resources: $60.5 billion
- Clean Water: $59.7 billion
- Broadband: $98 billion
Counties support the framework’s focus on strengthening the intergovernmental partnership and believe that a strong federal-state-local partnership is key to strengthening our nation’s infrastructure. Counties own 45 percent of public roads and nearly 40 percent of the National Bridge Inventory and are directly involved in the operation of 78 percent of public transit systems and 34 percent of public airports. We invest $134 billion annually in infrastructure and operating and maintaining public works. As significant owners and operators of America’s transportation and infrastructure systems, counties must be meaningfully included in considerations that have the potential to directly impact our ability to serve our residents. Counties urge Congress to prioritize a strong federal-state-local partnership as the legislation is developed.
Just prior to the Democrats’ release of their infrastructure framework, Republicans – led by U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Ranking Member Sam Graves (R-Mo.) – announced a set of legislative principles they will use to guide their efforts in developing a surface transportation reauthorization to address the impending expiration of the current law, the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act (P.L. 114-94), on September 30, 2020. These include:
- Addressing the long-term sustainability of the Highway Trust Fund (HTF)
- Incorporating innovative developments in technology to improve our infrastructure
- Streamlining the project delivery process to maximize available funding
- Addressing the infrastructure needs of America’s rural communities
- Prioritizing core programs and functions of our existing federal surface transportation programs
- Ensuring state flexibility to engage with local partners
While this is a preliminary outline of Republican priorities, counties are supportive of provisions that would bring solvency to the HTF, streamline the federal permitting process, empower the state-local partnership and address the infrastructure needs of rural America. Republicans thus far have not signaled movement on a larger infrastructure package.
House lawmakers are facing an uphill battle to reauthorize funding for surface transportation programs prior to the September 30 expiration date, setting up a likely extension, or series of extensions, of the FAST Act prior to a new reauthorization. Any legislation out of the House will need to be conferenced with a Senate version. S. 2302, the America’s Transportation and Infrastructure Act (ATIA), remains only a highway bill while it awaits further action from other Senate committees of jurisdiction. For context, the authorization prior to the FAST Act – MAP 21 (P.L. 112-141) was extended roughly three dozen times before the FAST Act was signed into law in 2015.
Neither the House nor the Senate has developed a “pay for” or financing offset that would address the looming insolvency of the HTF. Ranking Member Graves, along with other members from both sides of the aisle, have renewed calls for a transition away from the federal motor fuel user fee, better known as the gas tax, in favor of a vehicle miles traveled (VMT) user fee that would better capture all users of the roads, including electric vehicles. Graves said recently he would prefer to eliminate the gas tax all together and instead transition to VMT. However, T&I Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) – who also favors of VMT – has argued that it is too soon for such a dramatic shift in the mechanisms by which HTF revenue is collected. Chairman DeFazio has remained committed to increasing the federal gas tax and indexing it to inflation as the most effective short-term solution to returning solvency to the HTF. While both the VMT and the gas tax bring revenue to the HTF and would fund surface transportation programs, House lawmakers must look toward larger sources of funding and financing to pay for the $760 billion framework.
To this end, the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means held a hearing on January 29 to consider potential financing options. Several additional proposals offered by House lawmakers would protect and revitalize key infrastructure financing mechanisms for county governments, including maintaining the tax-exempt status of municipal bonds, reinstating advanced refunding bonds and providing access to additional funding options like Build America bonds.
Counties are encouraged to see the inclusion of these vital financing tools, as they have long been the primary method for localities to fund public capital improvements and infrastructure projects that are essential for job creation and economic growth. We look forward to working with our congressional champions to ensure county priorities are included in any surface transportation authorization or comprehensive infrastructure package.
On January 29, the U.S.2020-02-04Blog2023-04-12 - Surface Transportation: $434 billion; $129 billion increase over FAST Act, including:
On January 29, the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, in conjunction with Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House majority leadership, unveiled a five-year, $760 billion infrastructure proposal for FY 2021 through 2025. The “Moving America and the Environment Forward” framework would roll a surface transportation reauthorization into a package with other infrastructure legislation that would fund roads, transit, rail, aviation, ports, broadband, wastewater and drinking water projects.
While the proposal does not contain actual bill text, the plan does provide a comprehensive outline of House Democratic leaders’ vision for an infrastructure package. Legislative text is expected in spring 2020. NACo published a comprehensive analysis of the framework, which can be viewed here.
Top level funding amounts provided in the framework include:
- Surface Transportation: $434 billion; $129 billion increase over FAST Act, including:
- Federal Highway Administration (FHWA): $319 billion, $93 billion increase over FAST Act levels; $32 billion increase over S. 2302
- Federal Transit Administration (FTA): $105 billion, $44 billion increase over FAST Act
- Federal Railroad Administration (FRA): $55 billion, $44.6 billion increase over FAST Act
- Airports: $30 billion, currently authorized at $97 billion over FY 2019 – 2023 under the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-254)
- Ports: $19.7 billion
- Water Resources: $60.5 billion
- Clean Water: $59.7 billion
- Broadband: $98 billion
Counties support the framework’s focus on strengthening the intergovernmental partnership and believe that a strong federal-state-local partnership is key to strengthening our nation’s infrastructure. Counties own 45 percent of public roads and nearly 40 percent of the National Bridge Inventory and are directly involved in the operation of 78 percent of public transit systems and 34 percent of public airports. We invest $134 billion annually in infrastructure and operating and maintaining public works. As significant owners and operators of America’s transportation and infrastructure systems, counties must be meaningfully included in considerations that have the potential to directly impact our ability to serve our residents. Counties urge Congress to prioritize a strong federal-state-local partnership as the legislation is developed.
Just prior to the Democrats’ release of their infrastructure framework, Republicans – led by U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Ranking Member Sam Graves (R-Mo.) – announced a set of legislative principles they will use to guide their efforts in developing a surface transportation reauthorization to address the impending expiration of the current law, the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act (P.L. 114-94), on September 30, 2020. These include:
- Addressing the long-term sustainability of the Highway Trust Fund (HTF)
- Incorporating innovative developments in technology to improve our infrastructure
- Streamlining the project delivery process to maximize available funding
- Addressing the infrastructure needs of America’s rural communities
- Prioritizing core programs and functions of our existing federal surface transportation programs
- Ensuring state flexibility to engage with local partners
While this is a preliminary outline of Republican priorities, counties are supportive of provisions that would bring solvency to the HTF, streamline the federal permitting process, empower the state-local partnership and address the infrastructure needs of rural America. Republicans thus far have not signaled movement on a larger infrastructure package.
House lawmakers are facing an uphill battle to reauthorize funding for surface transportation programs prior to the September 30 expiration date, setting up a likely extension, or series of extensions, of the FAST Act prior to a new reauthorization. Any legislation out of the House will need to be conferenced with a Senate version. S. 2302, the America’s Transportation and Infrastructure Act (ATIA), remains only a highway bill while it awaits further action from other Senate committees of jurisdiction. For context, the authorization prior to the FAST Act – MAP 21 (P.L. 112-141) was extended roughly three dozen times before the FAST Act was signed into law in 2015.
Neither the House nor the Senate has developed a “pay for” or financing offset that would address the looming insolvency of the HTF. Ranking Member Graves, along with other members from both sides of the aisle, have renewed calls for a transition away from the federal motor fuel user fee, better known as the gas tax, in favor of a vehicle miles traveled (VMT) user fee that would better capture all users of the roads, including electric vehicles. Graves said recently he would prefer to eliminate the gas tax all together and instead transition to VMT. However, T&I Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) – who also favors of VMT – has argued that it is too soon for such a dramatic shift in the mechanisms by which HTF revenue is collected. Chairman DeFazio has remained committed to increasing the federal gas tax and indexing it to inflation as the most effective short-term solution to returning solvency to the HTF. While both the VMT and the gas tax bring revenue to the HTF and would fund surface transportation programs, House lawmakers must look toward larger sources of funding and financing to pay for the $760 billion framework.
To this end, the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means held a hearing on January 29 to consider potential financing options. Several additional proposals offered by House lawmakers would protect and revitalize key infrastructure financing mechanisms for county governments, including maintaining the tax-exempt status of municipal bonds, reinstating advanced refunding bonds and providing access to additional funding options like Build America bonds.
Counties are encouraged to see the inclusion of these vital financing tools, as they have long been the primary method for localities to fund public capital improvements and infrastructure projects that are essential for job creation and economic growth. We look forward to working with our congressional champions to ensure county priorities are included in any surface transportation authorization or comprehensive infrastructure package.
USDOT Funding Levels
FAST Act vs. ATIA vs. Moving Forward
(in billions)

About Jessica Jennings (Full Bio)
Legislative Director – Transportation | Rural Action Caucus
Jessica serves as legislative director for transportation and infrastructure, as well as the liaison to NACo's Rural Action Caucus (RAC).More from Jessica Jennings
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NACo Analysis on House Democrats' Infrastructure Framework
This week the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, along with House majority leadership, unveiled a five-year, $760 billion infrastructure proposal for FY 2021 through 2025.
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Every other week, NACo’s County Countdown reviews top federal policy advocacy items with an eye towards counties and the intergovernmental partnership. Watch the video and explore NACo resources below on some of the top issues we are covering this week. -
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National Membership Call: Overview of U.S. Treasury New Guidance for ARPA Flexibility
Aug. 15, 2023 , 3:00 pm – 4:00 pmOn August 10, the U.S. Department of Treasury released their Interim Final Rule (IFR) for the bipartisan State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Fiscal Recovery, Infrastructure, and Disaster Relief Flexibility Act (i.e. Cornyn/Padilla Amendment) that allows counties to invest American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (SLFRF) dollars more flexibly towards new transportation and infrastructure projects, relief from natural disasters and eligible projects under the Community, Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. -
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NACo Analysis: Overview of New Treasury Guidance for ARPA Flexibility Legislation
On August 10, the U.S. Department of Treasury (Treasury) released an Interim Final Rule (IFR) for the bipartisan State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Fiscal Recovery, Infrastructure, and Disaster Relief Flexibility Act
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American Rescue Plan Resource Hub
In March of 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 authorized the $350 billion State and Local Coronavirus Fiscal Recovery Fund (Recovery Fund), which provided $65.1 billion in direct, flexible aid to every county in America.Reports & Toolkitsdocument03092:00 pmReports & Toolkits<p>In March of 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 authorized the $350 billion State and Local Coronavirus Fiscal Recovery Fund (Recovery Fund), which provided $65.1 billion in direct, flexible aid to
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ClearGov
ClearGov® is the leading provider of Budget Cycle Management software, focused on helping local governments streamline the annual budgeting process by improving the collection, creation, and communication of their budgets.pagepagepage<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width:100%" summary="call-out transparent">
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Finance, Pensions & Intergovernmental Affairs Steering Committee
All matters pertaining to the financial resources of counties, fiscal management, federal assistance, municipal borrowing, county revenues, federal budget, federal tax reform, elections and Native American issues. Policy Platform & Resolutions 2023-2024 2023 NACo Legislative Prioritiespagepagepage<p>All matters pertaining to the financial resources of counties, fiscal management, federal assistance, municipal borrowing, county revenues, federal budget, federal tax reform, elections and Native American issues.</p>
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Transportation Policy Steering Committee
Responsible for all matters pertaining to federal transportation legislation, funding and regulation and its impacts on county government. This includes highway and bridge development, finance and safety, public transit development and finance, transportation planning, airport development and service, passenger and freight railroads, ports and waterways, freight movement, and research and development of new modes of transportation.pagepagepage<p>Responsible for all matters pertaining to federal transportation legislation, funding and regulation and its impacts on county government.
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Implementing Infrastructure Investments at the County Level: The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (P.L. 117-58)
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Contact
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Legislative Director – Transportation | Rural Action Caucus(202) 942-4264
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Legislative Director – Justice & Public Safety | Gulf States Counties & Parishes Caucus(202) 942-4234
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Related Resources
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Reports & ToolkitsNACo Analysis: Overview of New Treasury Guidance for ARPA Flexibility LegislationAug. 11, 2023
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ResourceLegislative Analysis for Counties: H.R. 3935, the Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act (House FAA reauthorization)Aug. 10, 2023
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DocumentTechnical Assistance for Counties: USDOT Competitive Grant LifecycleJul. 5, 2023