Infrastructure is in the news nearly daily and is a hot topic in the nation’s capital as Congress and the president propose ideas to address infrastructure needs.

Infrastructure Week kicks off on Monday and focuses on meeting the nation’s needs for roads and bridges as well as safe travel for pedestrians and bicyclists.

“Infrastructure is critical to roadway safety,” ATSSA President & CEO Stacy Tetschner said. “This week provides one more reminder of the importance of coming together to provide safe travel for all roadway users. In a nation where division is all too common these days, infrastructure unites us.”

As President-Elect Joe Biden continues to formulate his policy transition teams, there is a focus on transportation and infrastructure issues. There is a strong indication that infrastructure policies will be an early focus of the Biden Administration.

Today, ATSSA submitted our policy priorities to the transition team, focused on roadway safety infrastructure investments.

“For more than 50 years, ATSSA has focused on reducing roadway fatalities and serious injuries on roads throughout the country,” ATSSA President and CEO Stacy Tetschner stated. “We look forward to working with President-Elect Biden and his infrastructure advisors on ensuing that roadway safety is the focal point on any surface transportation proposals and legislation. As the voice of roadway safety, ATSSA and our members are the go-to resource for policy makers at all levels of government, including the incoming administration and future U.S Department of Transportation appointees.”

The Senate this evening approved a one-year extension of the federal highway bill, which would have expired at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday.

The extension was included in a continuing resolution (CR) passed by both chambers to avert a government shutdown. The stopgap bill pushes the deadline to pass the yearly spending budgets for the federal government to Dec. 11.

The Senate approved the action by an 84-10 vote.

Democrats in the House of Representatives today proposed a Continuing Resolution that includes a one-year extension of the current federal highway bill.

The resolution is aimed at avoiding a federal government shutdown but included the highway bill, which is scheduled to expire on Sept. 30. The federal government shutdown could come in nine days without action. The proposal would fund the government through Dec. 11.

If approved, the resolution would ensure that current transportation programs would not lapse on their expiration date of Oct. 1.

Today, the Democratic leadership of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee released proposed legislation to reauthorize the federal transportation program through Fiscal Year 2025. The bill, Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation in America Act (INVEST in America Act), was introduced by Committee Chair Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Highways and Transit Subcommittee Chair Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), and Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee Chair Dan Lipinski (D-IL).

The proposal authorizes federal transportation funding for five years, at a total of $494 billion, $319 billion of which will be for highway investments.