Biden Administration Directs States To Repair Infrastructure, Not Build
As the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (USCC) recently dicussed,the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) directed U.S. states, cities and territories to prioritize funding for the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) to “repair and maintain existing transportation infrastructure before making new investments in highway expansions.”
Readers may recall that the IIJA is the bipartisan infrastructure bill that organizations like MSCI and the USCC supported for years. The goal was to both modernize and add vital new infrastructure.
The FHWA’s direction runs counter to that mission — and to congressional intent.
As the USCC argued, the FHWA direction is inconsistent with what was laid out under the IIJA legislation signed into law by President Joe Biden and will create confusion and uncertainty just when federal, state, and local governments and industry should be working closely to build out U.S. infrastructure.
The federal Government Accountability Office agreed. It has determined that the FHWA memo would constitute a regulation under federal law. That determination underscores two concerns: if the memo is a valid regulation, state and local transportation agencies must comply with it. Additionally, public notice and comment would have been required before the directive could go into effect. The FHWA offered no public notice and comment for this policy, which means it could be subject to legal challenge.
The guidance also has raised concerns among U.S. lawmakers. In fact, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) pledged to introduce a Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval to ensure the IIJA is implemented as written. The senator said, “The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was crafted and negotiated in a purposeful way, but through memos and guidance documents issued to states the administration has since attempted to contradict the law and impose policies that were specifically left out of the law.”
Read more here.