Paul Schlesinger, Alcalde & Fay, will present a verbal update on federal legislative activities. Attached is a report on federal activities the week of May 17-21, highlighting the negotiations over infrastructure funding.
President Biden proposed the American Jobs Plan (web attachment 1) in March that includes a significant investment in transportation infrastructure and is intended to be above and beyond what is included in the authorization bill. The President's budget, announced on May 28, carried forward all the transportation funding elements of the American Jobs Plan.
The current transportation authorization bill, the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, expires on September 30, 2021, after a one-year extension. Both the House and the Senate are working on a new authorization bill, which is likely to be a five-year bill. The sticking point is always the source of funding ("pay-fors") for the bill.
The Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee reported out the highway title on May 26, called the "Surface Transportation Reauthorization Act of 2021" (STRA, web attachment 2). Senate Committees responsible for the rail, transit, highway safety, and funding titles have yet to report out bills.
On June 4, the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee announced the "Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation in America Act", also known as the "INVEST in America Act" (web attachments 3-4). The bill includes a $2 million earmark for the US 101 Safety Improvements - South of Salinas project. (Earmarks are listed in the "Amendment" document that was published on June 7, web attachment 5: the US 101 project is #237 on page 69.)