Government-Mandated Project Labor Agreements, Local Hire Mandates and More
On February 10, the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved its portion of President Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-relief bill. The legislation would provide $30 billion to public transit programs, $8 billion to airports and $1.5 billion to Amtrak. The vast majority of those funds would go to maintaining existing operations. However, the Federal Transit Administration’s capital investment grants programs would receive $1.25 billion ($1 billion for New Starts and Core Capacity program and 250 million for Small Starts program) and $608 million would be allocated to airport development projects. While some have pointed to the $350 billion allotted for state and local governments in the president’s COVID-relief bill as a possible way to help fund new construction investment projects, how exactly that funding is spent appears likely to be left to state and local governments to decide. At a minimum, that funding could help prevent public owners from delaying or canceling construction projects.
On February 2, the U.S. Senate voted to confirm the nomination of Pete Buttigieg to serve as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) by an 86-13 vote. Buttigieg officially took the helm of the Department upon his swearing in by Vice President Kamala Harris on February 3. During his January 21 hearing, he affirmed his commitment to the Biden Administration’s plans to prioritize rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure. Ahead of the hearing, AGC stated its support for Buttigieg’s confirmation and called on the committee to expeditiously advance his nomination. AGC looks forward to working with Secretary Buttigieg to address the vital needs of our nation’s infrastructure.
Final Vote on Nomination Expected in Coming Weeks
In Addition to $46 Billion for Highway and Transit Programs under FAST Act
On December 15, President-elect Joe Biden nominated former Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg to become the next Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT). As one of the few candidates in the presidential field to introduce a full infrastructure plan, Buttigieg supported transitioning the nation from the current motor fuels tax to a Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) user fee. AGC looks forward to learning more about Mayor Buttigieg’s vision for USDOT during his Senate confirmation hearing and, if confirmed, looks forward to working with his Department to rebuild our nation’s infrastructure.
Enacts One-Year Federal-Aid Highway & Transit Extension
One-Year Extension of the FAST Act Included
Only a few days remain until the current highway and public transit law – the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act – expires on September 30. AGC is cautiously optimistic that Congress will extend the FAST Act for one-year (through fiscal year 2021). The extension would likely be considered as part of legislation to temporarily fund the federal government, known as a continuing resolution (CR). However, there is one outstanding issue that key negotiators need to resolve. They need to decide how much money should be deposited into the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) so that it can support the funding levels in the extension. Making this decision more complicated is the fact that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), which monitor the overall financial health of the HTF, differ significantly on the amount of money required.