Counties Celebrate Introduction of Bipartisan BASICS Act

WASHINGTON – The National Association of Counties (NACo) celebrates the introduction of the Bridges and Safety Infrastructure for Community Success (BASICS) Act by U.S. Representatives Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-Mich.) and Rob Bresnahan (R-Penn.). This bipartisan legislation would make several important changes to increase county access to federal transportation funding. 

“The BASICS Act would be a monumental step in ensuring that counties have access to federal funding for transportation infrastructure,” said NACo Executive Director Matthew Chase. “This bill would ensure that more counties—especially rural counties—can utilize federal funding for important road, bridge and safety projects in our communities.” 

Counties own 44 percent of public road miles and 38 percent of bridges in the United States, making them critical stakeholders in our nation’s surface transportation infrastructure. Despite this, counties struggle to reliably access federal formula transportation dollars, which comprise the bulk of federal transportation spending. This challenge is especially pronounced in rural counties, which often operate with more limited access to coordinated planning resources when utilizing and implementing federal formula funds. 

To address this, the BASICS Act would: 

• Grow the Surface Transportation Block Grant program, the most flexible highway formula program that benefits states and local governments alike.
• Amend formula funding programs for bridges and safety infrastructure to provide access for counties and other local governments.
• Clarify project selection requirements to ensure that suballocated federal funding is used as intended for locally selected projects.
• Support rural counties by providing new funding for regional transportation planning organizations, which have long been unfunded at the federal level. 

"The bipartisan BASICS Act is a major advance toward securing counties' access to critical federal transportation funding," said National Association of County Engineers (NACE) Executive Director Kevan Stone. "This bill would better align federal funding with local needs and leverage the expertise of our nation’s local road professionals across the country. NACE commends Representatives McDonald Rivet and Bresnahan for their bipartisan leadership on this important issue." 

“As committee leaders work to develop the next five-year federal surface transportation reauthorization bill, counties urge them to include the BASICS Act as a core part of that legislation,” said Chase.  

For more information on county priorities in the next surface transportation reauthorization bill, please visit NACo’s Surface Transportation Reauthorization Hub.