House Panel Weighs Input on Highway Funding Priorities
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WASHINGTON — The transportation panel in the U.S. House of Representatives recently reviewed proposals from its colleagues as a way to inform an upcoming multiyear highway policy measure.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers on May 14 formally shared with the leadership of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee a series of explanations and justifications for funding highway-centric programs in their home states.
The aim for the House members is to have the panel approve their surface transportation projects or infrastructure proposals in the next massive highway legislation.
This procedural, quasi-open forum legislative hearing, known as “Members’ Day” on Capitol Hill, is associated with most must-pass legislation. Congress has until the fall of 2026 to approve the next comprehensive surface transportation bill. Current federal highway programs were updated in the Biden-era $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, known as the bipartisan infrastructure law.
Transportation leaders expressed confidence in their ability to update the existing highway law prior to its expiration. At issue are questions surrounding long-term sources of funding as well as Congress’ capacity for achieving bipartisan agreement.
“Looking ahead, we have multiple legislative priorities that the committee must reauthorize. A top priority is the reauthorization of the nation’s surface transportation programs,” said Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.), the panel’s chairman. “As we plan for a new reauthorization bill, we are going through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act carefully and looking at what works and what doesn’t work. A priority of mine will be to return the surface transportation reauthorization back to a traditional infrastructure bill that focuses on roads, bridges and the movement of freight.”
Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), the committee’s ranking member, promoted bipartisanship amid tense budget debates in the House and Senate.
“The issues before this committee are not about which team you are on,” Larsen said. “They’re about solving problems for the people in your district, solving the transportation and infrastructure challenges they face and creating economic opportunities for the people we represent.”
At the hearing, lawmakers’ requests ranged from modernizing multimodal projects to expanding access for commuter and freight corridors.
Rep. Rudy Yakym (R-Ind.) took aim at the previous administration’s equity-driven goals and objectives for transportation agencies.
“The Biden administration was characterized by mission creep and the infusion of [diversity, equity and inclusion] into everything it did, often at the expense of core agency functions,” Yakym said. “I urge this committee to ensure agencies refocus on their core missions.”
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Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) proposed the panel expand its support of federal transit operations in urban centers. He suggested redirecting revenue collected by the Highway Trust Fund, which is backed by insufficient fuel tax revenue.
“Well-funded public transportation makes everyone’s commute easier,” Frost said. “Less traffic means that we will all be breathing cleaner air on those trips while there will also be less pollutants in our soil and water.”
Meanwhile, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) sought support for the installation of federal highway buffers.
“Many of my residents live within a few hundred feet of major federal highways and experience elevated rates of significant health problems due to increased air pollution exposure,” Tlaib told the panel. “Sound walls, cut sections and roadside vegetation can all help reduce exposure to air pollutants that harm our communities.”
The Republican-led House panel has yet to announce a legislative markup hearing for its multiyear highway policy measure. On the other side of the Capitol, the Senate highway committee is drafting its companion version of the legislation.
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