It’s time to debate the next transportation bill in Congress. House Transportation Chairman Sam Graves reportedly wants to mark up his last big surface transportation reauthorization bill this May — but he’s racing the Congressional clock to get a bill through his Committee, get the funding and House leadership approvals and move to the House floor before Sept. 30, 2026, when the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) expires.
For a Congress that is still wrapping up last year’s budget work and discussing a large partisan reconciliation bill, transportation may not be at the top of the news cycle, but it is an incredibly important bill to local governments. With tight negotiation timelines and a slim majority, a single text from a local official or a large outcry from local governments to Congress could shift the tide on this transportation bill. Buckle up! NLC invites all local leaders to join us for this drive.
Cities Beware – Federal Infrastructure Grants Vanish
For thousands of local governments, the IIJA was a momentously productive infrastructure partnership between the federal government and local governments. From small cities in the Rust Belt to Western megacities or a growing city in the South, IIJA had a new opportunity for new local governments to apply for a federal grant that could meet a need in their community. Local governments own 43 percent of the nation’s federal-aid highway system and 50 percent of bridges, yet until the IIJA’s grants, there were no direct federal partnership routes to improve the locally owned portion of the national transportation network. IIJA’s grants were a lifeline to fix most of America’s infrastructure.
Rebuilding America Dashboard
View NLC’s Rebuilding America dashboard to see which cities, towns and villages successfully received direct federal grants from the IIJA.
However, some grants may disappear in the next transportation bill. Bill writers Chairman Graves (House) and Chairman Capito (Senate) have raised substantial questions about the administrative burden grants put on both the local government as an applicant but also on the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Local governments understand how difficult the process has been, but federal grants were a lifeline to transformational projects that are showing both early signs of success. Once built, local infrastructure projects will show their full potential as economic drivers and enhance the quality of life for residents. According to research by Brookings, states share relatively small amounts of funding with local partners, suballocating only 14 percent of total transportation funding to localities. Looking at the overall distribution, 26 states suballocate less than 10 percent of total transportation funding, with 15 failing to break even 5 percent.
If Congress wants a full national transportation system that connects factories, farms and families to economic centers in every Congressional district, their next transportation bill will need to support the 43 percent of the locally-owned national road network as well as the state portion.
Preparing to Leverage the Basic Transportation Formula Programs
The good news is that grants aren’t the only way to deliver federal transportation resources to local governments. Congress has a blueprint for how to deliver funding to locally-owned infrastructure through existing large transportation formula funds – H.R. 7437 – Bridges And Safety Infrastructure for Community Success Act (BASICS Act) by Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet (MI-08) and Rep. Rob Bresnahan (PA-08).
The BASICS Act modestly changes three major formula programs:
- Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) which invests in regional priority projects; STBG is the most flexible formula program distributed by population areas across every state and to all areas of the state
- Bridge Investment Program that invest in bridges in poor condition, with a new focus on local bridges as well as state-owned bridges
- Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) adds additional safety funding to close the gap between local Safe Streets Safety Plans and State Safety Plans
It also supports transportation planning at both the urban and rural levels through Metropolitan Planning Organizations and Rural Transportation Planning Organizations. By working through existing formula funds that already deliver federal funding through long-standing regional processes, the BASICS Act is leveraging the existing consensus on the State Transportation Improvement Program.
What Cities Should Ask Congress for in the Next Transportation Bill
In the next two weeks, every local government should make sure to reach out to their Member of Congress about local priorities to ensure community needs are on the record before the bill drops. Here’s what to share:
- Ask Them to Maintain Local Access in the Next Transportation Bill: Remind them that almost half (43 percent) of the nation’s federal-aid road network is owned and maintained by local governments like yours, and local governments have been able to start thousands of great transportation projects from IIJA. Ask them to make sure some funding is guaranteed to come back to the District and meet your needs.
- Share Your Transportation Needs: Tell them about the projects and needs in your area — especially significant projects, bridges or safety projects.
- Mention Federal Transportation Programs Your Community Needs: Share which IIJA transportation programs your community wants to use or emphasize some of the ones that every community can leverage:
- Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A)
- Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG)
- BUILD Discretionary Grants (previously called RAISE)
- Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP)
- Bridge Investment Program (BIP)
- Ask Them to Cosponsor H.R. 7437 BASICS Act: BASICS Acts supports regional priorities, bridges and safety projects. Tell them that cities, counties, regional organizations, public works officials and county engineers have all endorsed the BASICS Act as a bipartisan proposal to deliver streamlined funding to every region.
NLC will be updating members in upcoming federal transportation newsletters and communications.
All the details about the BASICS Act are available for review.
Take Action
Support the BASICS Act by sending a letter to Congress.
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