Last week, the House Democrats’ $547 billion surface transportation reauthorization bill (The INVEST Act) was posted to officially be considered on the floor of the House the week of June 28th. Of note, the modified bill included provisions that would provide for a $148 billion transfer from the U.S Department of the Treasury’s general fund to the highway fund ($109 billion to the highway account, and $39 billion to the mass transit account). Using general funds to support the highway fund is nothing new for Congress and has become an increasingly likely pay-for solution given President Biden’s apprehension toward raising or indexing the gas tax. Other pay-for alternatives that have been floated, such as charging a fee on electric vehicles or moving to a vehicle miles traveled fee, have also been avoided over political concerns. If approved, such transfer would be the biggest ever transfer and more than twice as large as the general fund transfer in the 2015 FAST Act.
Additionally, on Thursday, President Biden endorsed the bipartisan infrastructure framework introduced by the group of 21 Senators led by Senators Kyrsten Sinema (D-Arizona) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio). The plan includes $579 billion in new spending to rebuild America’s roads and bridges, improve public transit systems, expand passenger rail, upgrade our ports and airports, invest in broadband infrastructure, fix our water systems, modernize our power sector, and improve climate resilience. Despite this progress, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) stated that the House would not approve the bipartisan deal until the Senate first passes a larger, currently unwritten reconciliation bill. Such a reconciliation package is rumored to spend approximately $6 trillion and include tax increases along with several “non-traditional” infrastructure priorities. Such a statement from Speaker Pelosi effectively pressures Senator Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia) and other moderate Democrats to back a larger reconciliation proposal if they want to see the bipartisan agreement become law. Meanwhile, progressive Democrats are expected to face pressure to back the bipartisan deal because it reportedly also contains an extension of transportation programs set to expire by September 30th.
