House transportation committee drafts surface transportation reauthorization bill

A bill that aims to reauthorize federal surface transportation funding for another five years has officially been drafted. 

On May 17, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-Mo.) and the committee’s ranking member Rick Larsen (D-Wash.) released the text of the BUILD America 250 Act — officially the Building Unrivaled Infrastructure and Long-term Development for America’s 250th Act — which proposes the largest-ever federal investment in surface transportation, the politicians said in a press release. The total dollar amount proposed in the legislation wasn’t released. 

The bill would provide passenger-rail investments and reforms, help improve rail safety, extend the Railway-Highway Grade Crossings Program from fiscal-year 2027 through FY2031, ensure transportation projects and programs are more efficient, encourage innovation, improve roads and bridges, and create the first ever autonomous commercial motor-vehicle framework, Graves and Larsen said. 

Moreover, the legislation would strengthen the Highway Trust Fund by ensuring all highway users pay their share for the use and improvement of the nation’s roads, injecting the fund with its first new stream of revenue for infrastructure in over three decades, they said. 

“I believe the BUILD America 250 Act is the most important surface transportation bill since President Eisenhower built the Interstate Highway System. Like the America 250 celebration this year, this bill is not simply about honoring our past — it’s about moving forward and building upon the legacy of our nation’s infrastructure,” said Graves. 

To draft for the BUILD America 250 Act, the House committee held numerous hearings, solicited input and considered a high number of priorities from stakeholders — over 11,000 individual policy requests were submitted. 

Committee leaders plan to formally introduce the legislation soon and announce plans for a legislative markup, with the ultimate goal of sending the bill to the president’s desk before the current surface transportation authorization expires on Sept. 30, 2026.