On May 18, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I Committee) released H.R. 8870, ‘The BUILD America 250 Act’, which is shorthand for ‘Building Unrivaled Infrastructure and Long-term Development for America’s 250th Act’. The act is a bipartisan, five-year $580 billion surface transportation reauthorization bill that invests in roads, bridges, transit, rail, highway infrastructure, and motor carrier safety programs across the U.S.
The aims of the bill are ambitious: from providing the largest investment ever for American bridges, to ensuring that transportation projects are more efficient, to providing the Highway Trust Fund with a source of revenue over three decades, all the way to providing a framework to ensure the safe integration of autonomous commercial motor vehicles on U.S. highways.
The act was a coordinated effort between T&I Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO) and other high-ranking committee members. In a recent press release, Graves announced that the goal of the bill is to pass it through the House and Senate and place it on the president’s desk before the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) expires on September 30, 2026. Furthermore, Rick Larsen (D-WA), Ranking Member of the committee, stated: “I am committed to building on the last bipartisan infrastructure law by creating good-paying transportation jobs, growing the economy, and safely transporting people and goods across the country by road and rail.”
The IIJA was signed into law on November 15, 2021, by then-President Biden. The act authorized $1.2 trillion for transportation and infrastructure programs, of which $550 billion was allocated to “new” investments and programs. The American Society of Civil Engineers’ 2024 Infrastructure Report Card noted that in the three years since the law’s signing, more than 60,000 projects have been announced, including 10,000 bridge projects, 11,000 public transit projects, 1,100 airport redevelopment projects, and 500 port and waterway projects, among others. The report also identified 175,000 miles of roadway repair projects, 12,000 miles of high-speed internet infrastructure projects, and the planned replacement of 1.7 million lead pipes.
The highlight of the BUILD America 250 Act is the “largest ever investment” in bridges across the country; however, an important aspect of the bill that many critics have identified is the notable increase in car-related infrastructure, while transit-related infrastructure decreases. BUILD increases highway funding by eight percent, or $28 billion, while cutting transit and rail funding by 20 percent, or $43 billion over the next five years. Of the authorized $580 billion, $474 billion is guaranteed funding from the Highway Trust Fund (HTF), and the remaining $106 billion is subject to future appropriations from the General Fund. If these appropriations are not authorized, highways receive a seven percent increase, or $26 billion, while transit and rail lose 45 percent, or $71 billion. This shifts guaranteed funding between highways and transit/rail from a 70/30 split in the IIJA to an 81/19 split in BUILD.
While the IIJA was a $580 billion surface transportation authorization bill, $476 billion of that was authorized funding, while $156 billion was included in advance appropriations. Advance appropriations are funds allocated by Congress for future budget years, providing for spending that can not be reduced. BUILD, unlike its predecessor, the IIJA, contains no advance appropriations. In the case of rail funding, the IIJA allocated $36 billion in guaranteed funding with $66 billion in advance appropriations. Conversely, BUILD contains no guaranteed funding for rail, with the $63 billion authorized subject to annual appropriations. The disparity between advance and annual appropriations in both bills and the lack of advance appropriations are among the primary sources of criticism of the bill.
The road to BUILD becoming law will be a long one: leadership from the Rules Committee and Ways and Means Committee must approve and fund the bill, respectively, before it passes both in the House and Senate. In the meantime, its authors should acknowledge voices offering critique of the bill for potentially over-leveraging car-dependent infrastructure at a time when Americans could see additional benefits from increased transit development. As the federal role is clarified, the right balance between federal and state support for different transport modes may still be settled through amendments and future reforms.
Written by Shivom Sadhwani, Public Policy Intern
The Alliance for Innovation and Infrastructure (Aii) is an independent, national research and educational organization. An innovative think tank, Aii explores the intersection of economics, law, and public policy in the areas of climate, damage prevention, energy, infrastructure, innovation, technology, and transportation.