Senate EPW Committee Releases Full Text of 2-Year Reauthorization Bill

Leadership of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee released Friday night the full text of a 600-page surface transportation reauthorization bill that will be marked up Wednesday morning.The two-year legislation — dubbed “MAP-21” for “Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century” — maintains funding at current levels; reforms the nation’s transportation programs to make them more efficient; and provides robust assistance for transportation projects under the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act program to leverage state, local, and private-sector funding, according to a committee summary.

“We are happy to see the process has begun to put in place a long-term surface transportation authorization,” said John Horsley, executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. “We look forward to seeing the markup this week in committee. Meanwhile, we are reviewing the draft legislation and we look forward to working with the committee to craft the kind of robust, flexible legislation that will help states build and maintain a transportation system that meets our nation’s needs in the 21st century.”

MAP-21 was introduced by Senate EPW Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer, D-California; Sen. James Inhofe, R-Oklahoma and the committee’s ranking minority member; Sen. Max Baucus, D-Montana and chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee; and Sen. David Vitter, R-Louisiana and ranking minority member of the subcommittee. The bill will be marked up in the EPW Committee at 10 a.m. EST Wednesday, Nov. 9.

A four-page summary of the bill is available at 1.usa.gov/SEPWC4. The full text of the 600-page measure is available at 1.usa.gov/SEPWC600.