U.S. House T&I Committee Approves BUILD America 250 Act
The Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, following a 14-hour legislative markup, approved H.R. 8870, the BUILD America 250 Act, the committee reported on May 22. BUILD America 250 is a bipartisan, five-year surface transportation reauthorization bill that invests in America’s roads, bridges, transit, rail transportation, and highway and motor carrier safety programs.
The BUILD America 250 (Building Unrivaled Infrastructure and Long-term Development for America’s 250th) Act emphasizes moving people, goods, and freight safely and efficiently across the country. The bill provides the largest ever investment in America’s bridges, focuses on proven surface transportation infrastructure programs, provides passenger rail investments and reforms, improves rail safety, ensures that transportation projects and programs are more efficient, encourages innovation, provides the first ever autonomous commercial motor vehicle framework, and injects the Highway Trust Fund with its first new stream of revenue in over three decades.
“The purpose of the BUILD America 250 Act is right there in its name. We are celebrating the 250th anniversary of our nation and the infrastructure that has helped form it, and this bill is about building the infrastructure we need for America’s future,” said Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO). “This bill makes historic investments in our bridges and other critical infrastructure, reduces costs and delays in building, ensures states have the resources and flexibility they need, bolsters the Highway Trust Fund, fosters innovation, and provides a framework for safely integrating autonomous commercial motor vehicles onto our highways. I want to thank all the Committee Members on both sides of the aisle for the longs hours of debate they put in today on this vital legislation. I look forward to moving this bill on the House floor in the near future, and to working with the Senate to pass a final bill before the current law expires on Sept. 30.”
“You can’t have a big-league economy with little-league infrastructure,” said Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Ranking Member Rick Larsen (D-WA). “The BUILD America 250 Act will create good paying jobs while restoring aging bridges, repairing crumbling roads, and supporting safe, accessible rail, transit and bike infrastructure. My top priority this Congress was building on the momentum that the last bipartisan infrastructure law created for our transportation system and our economy and that’s exactly what the BUILD America 250 Act does. I want to thank Chairman Graves for his partnership and all my colleagues on the committee for their input and support. I look forward to swift passage by the full House.”
In a statement, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) commended Graves and Larsen for introducing the bill. As the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) nears expiration, the BUILD America 250 Act will sustain investments that are crucial for economic development, efficiency, and public safety.
Investments from the IIJA – which included funding for broadband, energy, transportation, and water systems – led to improved infrastructure conditions throughout the U.S. The 2025 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure gave the nation a cumulative grade of ‘C’, the highest overall grade issued since the report card series began in 1998. Most projects made possible by the IIJA are not yet complete, meaning we won’t see the full impact of this legislation for years, ASCE says.
Sustaining these funding levels is essential to improving infrastructure conditions, expanding capacity to meet current and future needs, and ensuring our built environment is more resilient and capable of withstanding environmental and man-made stressors. The BUILD America 250 Act sustains funding levels across key transportation programs through Fiscal Year 2031 and includes provisions that will accelerate project delivery, support digital technologies, and improve safety. The proposed legislation will allow critical projects on our nation’s bridges, roads, rail lines, and transit systems to move forward with the certainty of a federal partner.
