House INVEST Act
The bill will be voted on next week in the full House. A NAPA summary of the bill can be found here.
Buy America
The House Bill will include a provision that broadens Buy America to include ‘construction materials.” NAPA has worked with the other highway material groups to strengthen the language requiring a study by FHWA before implementing the mandate. We have confirmation that the changes are in the Manager’s Amendment, however we have not seen the final text yet. No additional changes to the language are expected when the bill passes the House.
This language NAPA and the other groups successfully added to the Manager’s Amendment should not be viewed as a compromise. NAPA and the other groups will still seek an exemption for asphalt, cement and aggregates. Asphalt impacts can be downloaded here. Responses from a recent AASHTO survey on Buy America impacts can be downloaded here. A NAPA presentation on this topic can be downloaded here. FHWA’s final ruling in 1983 exempting asphalt from Buy America requirements can be downloaded here.
Bipartisan Agreement
The agreement between a bipartisan group of Senators and President Biden can be found here. The agreement, when compared to the House and Senate bills can be seen as follows:
Highway-Bridge Spending, “Over FAST Act Baseline.”
- Biden American Jobs Plan: $167B
- House Dem bill: $83.8B
- Senate Bills: $89.7B
- Bipartisan Framework: $109B
The agreement needs the support of 60 Senators. It’s important to remember that Sen. Schumer needs at 50 Dems to stick together and find 10 GOP votes to get to 60. They are not there yet.
Click here to view a state-by-state 5-year highway formula apportionment totals that compare FAST Act years to the House and Senate bills’ funding levels. We do not have enough data to include the bipartisan framework agreement into the table. When the Senate returns from a 2-week July 4th recess, they will begin work incorporating the agreement into an infrastructure bill. As more information comes in we will be kept apprised.