Senate Environment & Public Works Committee approves Surface Transportation Bill

By Madi Hawkins / ASA

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee unanimously approved their Surface Transportation Bill this morning.

This legislation includes about $311 billion for transportation budget authority over the next 5 years, a funding increase of about 34 percent compared to the 2019 FAST Act.

Notable portions of the legislation are:

• $500 million per year over 5 years for alternative fueling and charging infrastructure, such as electric vehicle charging stations.
• Report on emerging alternative fuel vehicles and projections for potential locations of emerging alternative fuel vehicle owners over the next 5 years.
• Study of impacts on roads of self-driving vehicles.

Before this legislation is voted on by the full U.S. Senate, the Senate Banking, Commerce, and Finance Committees need to produce titles that will be sent to the floor. These titles will be packaged together and voted on as a whole.

Meanwhile, bipartisan talks continue on a broader infrastructure package that will be larger in size and scope.

To read the bill text, click here.

To read a section-by-section summary of the legislation, click here.

Madi Hawkins serves as a Legislative Analyst in the Automotive Service Association’s Washington, D.C. office.  She is a graduate of Vanderbilt University with a major in Public Policy Studies.  Madi is originally from Austin, Texas, where she was born and raised, but now resides in Washington, D.C.