Surface Transportation Reauthorization Advocacy Toolkit
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In this resource, you will find tools and best practices to help educate and engage with Congress, the Administration and the public on the importance of county infrastructure and the need for direct federal support.
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Surface Transportation Reauthorization and Grassroots Advocacy
Counties play a major role in our nation’s infrastructure network, owning and maintaining 44 percent of our nation’s roads and 38 percent of bridges. Understanding this responsibility, county governments invest over $146 billion into our nation’s infrastructure and over $60 billion into transportation annually. However, counties rely on federal funding to support these vast systems. In the current surface transportation reauthorization, counties received a disproportionate share of federal funding, which left the infrastructure most in need without support. The next reauthorization provides Congress with the opportunity to balance federal infrastructure spending to ensure that our infrastructure and transportation systems can run smoothly and efficiently.
In this resource, you will find tools and best practices to help educate and engage with Congress, the Administration and the public on the importance of county infrastructure and the need for direct federal support.
44%
of America’s roads
Counties own and maintain 44% of America’s roads. In total, 1.8 million miles are county owned roads, where the majority of trips both start and end
38%
of bridges
Counties own and maintain 38% of bridges.
$146B
invested in infrastructure
Counties invest more than $146 billion into our nation’s infrastructure.
Schedule a Meeting with Your Member of Congress & Talking Points
Building strong relationships with your members of Congress is a key starting point to advancing county priorities. Your U.S. Senators and Representative are charged with representing your interests on federal issues and the best way to educate them about county needs is through meeting directly with them. You can find out who your members of Congress are by visiting https://www. congress.gov/members/find-your-member.
Members of Congress or their staff are often available for meetings in several formats:
- In-person in Washington, D.C. - Ideal opportunities for when you are in D.C. during NACo’s Legislative Conference, fly-ins or other events
- At their district office - Convenient for connecting with local staff and when members are home in district during congressional recess periods
- Virtually - A flexible way to engage without traveling
- During a county visit or community event - Engaging way to showcase your county and its programs
To contact them, the best place to start is through their Senate or House website and use their provided webform, email or office phone number. Be sure to include your name, title, county, purpose for your meeting and availability. NACo staff can help facilitate this process.
When you meet your member of Congress, be sure to keep your messaging clear, factual and locally focused. Use the following talking points to guide the conversation:
- Nationwide, counties own 44 percent of public road miles and 38 percent of bridges.
- This includes thousands of “on-system” bridges and 27.1 percent of Federal-aid highway miles.
- Despite this, counties and other local governments only receive an average of 14 percent of federal formula transportation funds.
- Additionally, most counties are located in states with at least some level of preemption of county revenue authority.
- This means that counties have very limited ability to raise the money we need to invest in the infrastructure we own.
- This combination has resulted in a chronic underinvestment in locally owned infrastructure.
- As a result, locally owned roads and bridges are significantly more likely to be in poor condition, as compared to state-owned infrastructure.
- In the next surface transportation bill, Congress should increase county access to formula funding to ensure we have the resources we need to maintain our infrastructure.
- This includes growing the Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) program and adding suballocation requirements to programs like the Bridge Formula Program (BFP) and the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP).
- Congress should also retain key discretionary grant programs that facilitate direct, federal investments in county-led projects, while streamlining applications to save applicants and agencies time.
- Third, Congress should improve the planning and project selection process to ensure that suballocated federal funds are used for locally led projects, as the law intends.
- The next bill should also empower and fund regional transportation planning organizations (RTPOs) to ensure that rural areas have equal access to high-quality, federally funded planning.
- Finally, Congress should reform federal permitting requirements to speed up timelines for repairs, projects within the existing right-of-way and projects focused on safety.
- By enacting these policies, Congress can support infrastructure needs in our communities and improve the lives of our shared constituents.
After your meeting wraps up, make sure to grab their business card or contact information. A follow-up and thank you email is always appreciated by the Member and their staff and can reiterate your talking points. Remember that regular communication and engagement is helpful in strengthening relationships with your congressional leaders.
Sample Letter to Member of Congress
Utilize NACo’s letter template and send a letter to Congress written on county letterhead, either through the U.S. Postal Service or via email, that explains why it is critical to your county that Congress supports county infrastructure in the next surface transportation reauthorization bill.
Publish a Letter to the Editor or Op-Ed
Connect with your local media outlets to highlight the importance of Congress to include county priorities in the next surface transportation bill to uplift local com munities. Write and submit op-ed columns, letters to the editor or guest commentaries to local newspapers outlining the importance of county infrastructure and urging Congress to pass a comprehensive bill.
Below find a sample Op-Ed to consider and remember, your ability to craft and tailor the message to fit your community is very important for publishing an op-ed. County-specific examples and other local information will significantly enhance your advocacy. NACo’s Media Relations Guide for Counties is also available to assist county officials with local media outreach.
Engage Your Members of Congress on Social Media
Demonstrate how counties are maintaining and upgrading transportation systems to help keep our nation moving through pictures and stories. Most Senators and Representatives are on social media and monitor their feeds regularly. The easiest way to find your members of Congress is to utilize the search function on social media or by visiting your members’ website. In addition to reaching out to your members of Congress on social media, consider engaging with House and Senate leadership.
You should keep NACo in the loop on your social media advocacy so that our team can elevate your efforts to a wider audience. When posting on Twitter/X, please include @NACoCounties, as well as the hashtag #CountyInfrastructure in your post. You should also take photos of whatever outreach you do—whether a virtual or in-person meeting, an event with your Member of Congress or a written letter—and share with us on Instagram (@nacocounties) and Twitter/X.
- Locally owned bridges are twice as likely to be in “poor condition” than state-owned bridges. Congress must prioritize funding for these and other locally owned assets. #CountyInfrastructure
- Research shows that 36% of locally owned roads are in “poor condition,” undermining community economic development, safety and quality of life. Congress must act to ensure federal funding can address this urgent need. #CountyInfrastructure
- Counties own 44% of public road miles and 38% of bridges nationwide, but local governments only see about 15% of federal formula funding. In this next transportation bill, Congress must increase investments in #countyinfrastructure.
- #CountyInfrastructure plays a crucial role in our national economy, moving millions of people and billions of dollars in commerce every day.
- Investing in #CountyInfrastructure is an investment in our overall transportation network. Congress must step up and increase support for counties in the next surface transportation bill.
- Here in [COUNTY/BOROUGH/PARISH NAME], the [COUNTY/BOROUGH/PARISH] manages [NUMBER] miles of roads and [NUMBER] bridges. We need more support from our federal partners to ensure that this #CountyInfrastructure can meet the needs of our citizens and businesses.
Surface Transportation Reauthorization Resource Hub
This hub serves as a comprehensive resource, offering critical information, practical tools and advocacy opportunities to help county leaders and communities grasp the full impact of the Surface Transportation Reauthorization Bill. From transportation improvements to economic growth, energy initiatives, and public safety enhancements, this platform equips counties with the knowledge necessary to engage in the legislative process and ensure their residents’ voices help shape this essential legislation.
U.S. House members introduce NACo-endorsed, bipartisan BASICS Act to improve transportation programs for local infrastructure
On February 9, Reps. Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-Mich.) and Robert Bresnahan (R-Pa.) introduced the Bridges And Safety Infrastructure for Community Success (BASICS) Act.
NACo and coalition partners sends letter opposing heavy truck weight and size limits to congressional leaders
On January 20, NACo and 20 coalition partners sent a letter to leaders of the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and Senate Committee on Environmental and Public Works urging them to oppose any legislation that would increase maximum truck size and weight limits on federal highways—either on their own or as part of larger reauthorization legislation.
Federal district court issues ruling preventing the federal government from imposing immigration compliance mandates on grant recipients
On November 4, a federal judge in Rhode Island ruled that the U.S. Department of Transportation cannot condition federal grant funding on a recipient’s cooperation with federal immigration enforcement efforts.
U.S. House of Representatives passes SPEED Act and other permitting reform bills
On December 18, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the SPEED Act (H.R. 4776). The SPEED Act would strengthen county involvement in decision-making and make needed commonsense reforms to the federal environmental review process.
NACo Staff Contacts
Ben Gilsdorf
