Moving America Forward: A Policy Blueprint for Strategic Highway & Public Transit Investment

By: Dave Bauer, president & CEO, American Road & Transportation Builders Association

 

Every day, transportation construction professionals experience firsthand how decisions made in Washington impact their projects and businesses. Influencing those decisions means making our voices heard. In a city full of loud voices and competing agendas, our industry's greatest strength is its ability to speak as one.

With the current federal highway and public transportation programs set to expire on Oct. 1, 2026, ARTBA mobilized early to ensure our collective voice is heard – and heeded.

Over eight months, 27 representatives from across membership divisions and the Council of State Executives – including Virginia Department of Transportation Commissioner Stephen Brich – came together to shape a forward-looking vision for the next surface transportation bill.

When this effort began in September 2024, the political landscape for 2025 remained uncertain: the makeup of Congress, the occupant of the White House, and the appetite for a timely reauthorization were all unknown. But our industry pressed ahead, engaging in a rigorous, member-driven process to develop industry priorities grounded in real-world experience and shaped by decades of industry leadership.

The result – “Moving America Forward: A Blueprint for Strategic Highway & Public Transit Investment” – was unanimously approved by the Board of Directors in May and articulates a unified and outcome-focused vision for modernizing America’s highways, bridges, and transit systems. It outlines pragmatic and high-impact reforms centered around four key pillars:

• Strategic Investment: Adjust highway and transit investment levels to offset the impacts of historic inflation over the past four years. The minimum goal in the next bill should be increasing highway investment to $84.6 billion and public transit investment to $26.3 billion by FY 2027, with future increases over the bill’s lifespan. These investments should be supported through a diversified mix of user-based fees and general funds, as necessary.
• Rewarding Success: Empower states to determine where and how to best direct their formula highway funds and give them the flexibility to select projects based on performance expectations, programming, and delivery methods consistent with federal guidelines.
• Delivering Projects Faster: Encourage states to take on National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) assignment, lower the threshold for categorical exclusions (CE), strengthen One Federal Decision, and promote government-wide standardization, to maximize federal investment.
• Building a Strong & Skilled Workforce: Support the industry’s long-term viability by investing in research, workforce training, and technologies that enhance roadway worker safety and attract the next generation of transportation construction professionals.

These recommendations come at a critical time, as leaders of key House and Senate committees are readying their respective reauthorization bills for action later this year. In preparation, ARTBA shared the blueprint with congressional offices, organized a coalition briefing for Capitol Hill staff, and formally submitted the reauthorization priorities via stakeholder portals. You can see the full report at artba.org.

We are certainly not the only ones taking policy proposals to Capitol Hill, but we are the only ones with a report that represents consensus viewpoints of the entire transportation construction industry.

Member engagement is a critical part of this process. Sharing your own experiences in the Commonwealth with federal lawmakers will help turn good intentions into great policy outcomes. The transportation construction industry is offering proven solutions and a readiness to partner with those on Capitol Hill, so let’s get moving.