Carson Passes Amendment, Votes to Preserve Infrastructure Funding

WASHINGTON, DC-Today, Congressman Carson voted to advance the Build America 250 Act, which includes Carson's amendment to improve motorcycle safety. The bill passed out of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and will advance to the House floor in the coming weeks.

The Build America 250 Act makes significant investments in the nation's infrastructure, with a total of $580 billion in authorized and guaranteed funding, including $8.3 billion for bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, $64 billion for Amtrak, and $87.5 billion in guaranteed transit funding.

"The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law brought unprecedented levels of funding to Indiana - from IndyGo, to highway repairs, to broadband infrastructure," said Congressman Carson. "Now, we're building on that progress. In addition, my amendment will help protect motorcyclists from unfair profiling when they are pulled over for traffic stops just because of their appearance while riding motorcycles. The bill will also support bicyclist and pedestrians-because our streets should be safe for all."

The Carson amendment is endorsed by the American Bikers Aimed Toward Education (ABATE) of Indiana and other motorcycle safety organizations.

"Motorcyclists nationwide will benefit from this protection," said Jay Jackson, Executive Director, ABATE of Indiana. "It's all about treatment that is fair and just. We greatly appreciate Congressman Carson taking the lead in offering this amendment."

Accomplishments in the Build America 250 Act include:

Significant Investments in Infrastructure:

• $580 billion in authorized and guaranteed funding.
• $473.8 billion in guaranteed funding through the Highway Trust Fund.
• $87.5 billion in guaranteed transit funding, comparable to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).
• $64 billion in authorized funding for Amtrak and competitive rail grant programs.
• $45 billion in guaranteed bridge funding-a $5 billion increase from the BIL.
• $12 billion for a new Surface Transportation Accelerator Grant program available to local communities of all sizes.
• $8.3 billion for bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure through the Transportation Alternatives Program.
• $4 billion for the All Stations Accessibility Program (ASAP), an increase of $250 million from the BIL, to bring more transit stations into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Advancing Rail Safety and Service

• Congressman Carson offered two amendments to support workers at US rail maintenance facilities by preventing workforce reductions and ensures employees are covered by current labor protections.
• Democrats fought hard to improve rail safety in the BUILD America 250 Act and achieved meaningful progress in several areas, including accelerating the phase-out of dangerous tank cars, requiring Class I railroads to join the Confidential Close Call Reporting System, and requiring passenger rail operators to have assault and harassment prevention plans.
• On an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote, the committee passed the Rail Safety Act, which addresses many of the issues that resulted in the toxic freight train derailment in East Palestine.
• The bill also allows states to upgrade stations and purchase rail equipment for state-supported routes by expanding eligibility in the State Transportation Block Grants program.
• Democrats pushed to ensure additional rail safety provisions can be considered during the markup process and will support amendments to strengthen rail safety.

Giving Local Communities More Control

• The BUILD America 250 Act provides funding and grant opportunities important to local governments, including:
  • The Safe Streets and Roads for All grant program and the new Surface Transportation Accelerator Grant program, which supports a broad array of highway, transit and rail projects in urban, suburban, and rural communities.
  • $11 billion in guaranteed funding for locally owned bridge projects and a higher federal share for locally owned bridges off the federal-aid highway system.
• The bill directly allocates planning funding to Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), providing more authority over federal funds for urban areas.
• Local governments are eligible to apply for approximately $30 billion in authorized rail improvement funds.

Supporting Clean Transportation and the Environment

• Instead of the Republicans' proposed $250 fee, the BUILD America 250 Act includes a $130 fee for EVs and a $35 fee for plug-ins. These fees provide improvements to the Highway Trust Fund so that all roadway users can contribute to the upkeep and safety of public roads. While these are not tied to inflation, they will slowly increase year-over-year until reaching $150 and $50, respectively, in eight years.
• The bill streamlines permitting reviews for environmentally friendly projects, like active transportation and transit, to make it easier to build cleaner and greener infrastructure in the future.
• The bill requires states to invest $1 billion in alternative fuel infrastructure-including EV charging-under the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality program.
• The bill maintains $500 million in annual funding for PROTECT grants to make surface transportation more resilient to the changing climate. Advancing Rail Safety and Service.

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