Press Releases

On May 22nd, U.S. Representative Salud Carbajal (D-CA-24) voted to advance the BUILD America 250 Act out of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, where Carbajal serves as a senior member. The 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.

“To build an economy that works for everyone and lowers costs, we need reliable infrastructure. While I helped write and pass the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, there is still much more we can do to modernize our roads, highways, and railroads,” said Rep. Carbajal. “This new legislation builds on that foundation and lays out a strong pathway forward to renew our nation’s infrastructure. I will continue working on a bipartisan basis to get this bill across the finish line.”

“The National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) welcomes the bipartisan markup and passage of the BUILD America 250 Act out of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee (T&I) this past week – securing an emphatic 62-2 passage. The asphalt industry – the producers, pavers and contractors – who are responsible for maintaining and advancing over 94% of the entire roadway market paved with asphalt pavements, depend on passage of a robust surface transportation reauthorization package this year. Further, we are appreciative of the great work of Congressman Carbajal, who has been a consistent collaborator with industry stakeholders, like NAPA, throughout this Congress ahead of consequential markup. As Vice Chair for Outreach of the New Democrat Coalition, Rep. Carbajal has been a pragmatic and engaged partner focused on shared priorities with NAPA, including advocating for policies focused on work zone safety enhancements, Highway Trust Fund solvency and continued protections for the construction material supply chain via our longstanding Buy America exemptions. All of these efforts were on full display during the markup, as Rep. Carbajal raised sensible comments during the markup’s amendment debate. We look forward to continuing our close partnership with Congressman Carbajal, and encourage all of his colleagues in the House to pass the BUILD America 250 Act as quickly as possible,” said Nile Elam, Vice President of Government Affairs, National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA).

The BUILD America 250 Act 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.

Carbajal advocated for, and successfully included, over 40 of his priorities in the bill, including:

• Bolstering funding for railroads, including intercity passenger rail such as the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner. 
• Supporting infrastructure improvements along important highway and rail corridors that serve our nation’s ports, such as Port of Hueneme. 
• Commissioning a study on the feasibility of establishing National Infrastructure Bank to provide loans and loan guarantees to local infrastructure projects.
• Reauthorizing the Wildlife Crossings Grant Program to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions and improve habitat connectivity. 
• Securing funding to be allocated directly to local governments and agencies for the improvement and maintenance of roads, bridges, highways, and other transportation corridors. 
• Supporting Metropolitan Planning Organizations, like Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG) and San Luis Obispo Council of Governments (SLOCOG), to access “PL” funds by increasing funding by 18 percent above Bipartisan Infrastructure Law levels. The bill would increase the federal cost-share for PL funds from 80 percent to 90 percent.

The bill now must be considered by the full House and Senate before final passage.