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Volume 1 | July 1, 2020
Governmental Affairs
July 1, 2020
This email provides an update on federal legislative activities, namely the Moving America Forward Act (H.R. 2).
 
I would love to hear from you - feel free to reach out with suggestions for content, reactions to this or past governmental affairs emails, or just to say "Hi". 

Thanks,
LaNiece Davenport
Moving America Forward Act (H.R. 2)
House legislators have jumped another hurdle in the legislative process to authorize a long-term infrastructure bill. Today, the House of Representatives passed the Moving Forward Act (H.R. 2), the 2,300-page, $1.5 trillion infrastructure bill put forward by House Democrats. The bill passed by a roll call vote of 233 yeas and 188 nays, after two days of debate during which 162 amendments were adopted. Three Republicans voted “yes” and two Democrats and one Independent voted “no”.
 
The bill, H.R. 2 , is a comprehensive infrastructure bill that includes many elements of infrastructure: roads, bridges, transit, water, broadband, energy, airports, school construction, hospitals, etc. A fact sheet on H.R. 2 is available here . A video of House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Chair DeFazio speaking on the floor about the Moving Forward Act is here . For more information on the T&I Committee’s “INVEST” surface transportation bill, which is the centerpiece of H.R. 2, click here .
 
House Republicans largely voted against the bill, because funding sources for the $1.5 trillion package have (largely) not been identified, and because the bill was developed in a (largely) partisan manner. Check out this statement to that effect by House T&I Ranking Member Graves . Senate Republicans have also criticized H.R. 2 for the same reasons. And, add to the mix, the White House issued an official veto threat for the House-passed infrastructure legislation. The President is asking for bipartisan infrastructure legislation.
 
The Senate bill, S. 2302 , passed a year ago in a bipartisan manner but it is a ‘partial’ infrastructure bill in that it only authorizes the highway element of infrastructure legislation. And, importantly, neither chamber has identified how to pay for the legislation.
 
As a reminder, the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) of 2015 expires September 30, 2020. That deadline is approaching very quickly, especially in terms of remaining legislative weeks on the Congressional calendar. Here is a read on the current political climate by Politico’s Tanya Snyder: “Enacting a bill this year has always been seen as a long shot, and an extension at this point is all but inevitable amid the current landscape, and even once the two chambers manage to conference the bill, the drastically different scopes, price tags and partisan tensions will make it messy at best.”

It therefore seems that the most likely result is that there will need to be one or more continuing resolutions to keep federal transportation funding flowing after the September 30 expiration of the FAST Act, and deliberations on long-term reauthorization policy and funding will be pushed to after the November election.
 
Want even more? See below for more information on what’s taken place to date, and what’s next regarding infrastructure legislation.
Where Things Stand and How We Got Here
On June 3rd , the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee released their surface transportation legislation, the INVEST in America (Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation) Act. INVEST is a 5-year, $494 billion proposal for our nation's surface transportation system. INVEST is the House Majority’s proposed successor to the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) of 2015.
 
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that the INVEST Act would be one component of a broader $1.5 billion infrastructure package, called Moving America Forward Act (H.R. 2) , which will also include funding for public school construction, housing, clean water, broadband deployment, water resources, and energy provisions, as well as some provisions on bonding and other infrastructure financing. Given Republican opposition and the lack of a clear pay-for, the bill faces a challenging path forward in the Republican-controlled Senate.
Here are a few key infrastructure and related provisions included in the $1.5 trillion infrastructure Moving America Forward Act:
  • House $494B surface transportation reauthorization bill, the INVEST Act; and
  • $70B for the electric grid modernization for more renewable energy and improve existing infrastructure; and
  • $100B or broadband internet infrastructure in unserved and underserved areas; and
  • $100B to build and repair public housing; and
  • $2.7B for Brownfields redevelopment; and
  • $10B for the Army Corps of Engineers to partially address the backlog of authorized port, waterway, and marine transportation projects; and
  • $65B in project financing for clean water and drinking water infrastructure; and
  • $17.5B for airports, the vast majority of which would be allocated for capital construction projects; and
  • $140B for school and childcare center construction and rehabilitation; and
  • $30B for hospital construction; and
  • Several tax and financing provisions, including an increase in the cap for surface transportation Private Activity Bonds (PABs) and a new Build America Bonds program.
 
On June 19 , the House T&I Committee finalized a 2-day virtual mark-up and considered over 300 amendments of H.R. 2 (that includes the INVEST Act). It passed on a party-line 35 to 25 vote.
 
On June 29 , the House Rules Committee took action on H.R. 2. The over 300 amendments that were submitted for consideration were whittled down to 134 Democratic amendments, 17 bipartisan amendments, and 19 Republican amendments, and a “Manager’s Amendment” composed of miscellaneous amendments, including some that were pre-approved by Committee Democratic leadership. Here is a link to the Rules Committee information and amendments in H.R. 2. 
 
On July 1 , today, the U.S. House completed debate on H.R. 2 and passed the bill on a largely party line vote. Republicans are not happy that they were not included in the development of what historically has been a bipartisan bill and they oppose many of the climate change and “green” infrastructure provisions.
What’s Next
Now that the House package passed, attention shifts to the Senate and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). Last July, the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee passed its $287 billion highway bill, the America's Transportation Infrastructure Act (ATIA) of 2019 ( S. 2302 ). Senate Republicans have not yet completed their work on the transit or rail titles to accompany the highway bill. The Senate Finance, Banking, and Commerce committees which have jurisdiction over the funding, transit, safety, rail, and trucking portions of the bill, have yet to introduce their sections of the bill. 
 
Congress will recess for the July 4th holiday with plans to return to DC for a couple of weeks later in July to move appropriation bills and likely another Coronavirus relief bill. Congress will then recess for most of August and return in September.
Possible Funding/Financing Options or “Pay Fors”
The House Democrats have not yet determined how to finance this legislation. House Ways and Means Committee Chair Neal said he is open to negotiation; he has suggested a combination of government-subsidized bonds, private equity bonds, and borrowing. The $494B highway, transit, and rail portion of H.R. 2 would be paid for in part with a transfer of $145B from general revenue to the Highway Trust Fund (HTF). The transfer would cover the shortfall between the rapidly decreasing HTF user fee receipts and proposed spending in the measure passed by the House today (July 1). Again, no new user fees/taxes or spending cuts are currently included in the House-passed bill.
 
Senator McConnell and Senate Republicans have not indicated how they would pay for their bill. To attain the necessary 60 votes to pass the Senate, a bipartisan agreement on policy, as well as HTF revenues, will be required.
 
Phew, a lot has happened and still needs to happen on this! We will continue to keep you updated.
Utah's Preliminary Primary Election Results
Before I sign off, I’d like to congratulate those elected officials that won their primaries! To those whose elections were not successful, you will certainly be missed. Regardless of the results, thanks to all of you for your willingness to serve and your dedication to your community. It is an honor to work with you, learn from you, and work towards a better Utah together. 
As always, we encourage you to check out the Wasatch Front Regional Council's website and the Governmental Affairs page for more information.
Until next time...