WTAS: Stakeholders Praise, Bresnahan, T&I Committee on Successful Transportation Investment

WASHINGTON, DC: Community leaders across Northeastern Pennsylvania are applauding U.S. Representative Rob Bresnahan, Jr. (PA-08) and the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure on the passage of the committee's surface reauthorization package, the BUILD America 250 Act.

The legislation, which passed out of the committee with strong bipartisan support, is the largest bridge investment in American history, advances railway safety, keeps protections for our roads and bridges from damage caused by heavier trucks, and sends more resources to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport (AVP).

Multiple industry organizations and stakeholders voiced their support, including the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), the American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA), the Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division-International Brotherhood of Teamsters (BMWED-IBT), the Coalition Against Bigger Trucks (CABT), the National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA), the Pennsylvania Asphalt Pavement Association (PAPA), the SMART Transportation Division, the Truck Renting and Leasing Association (TRALA), and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport (AVP).

American Public Transportation Association (APTA): "APTA thanks Representative Bresnahan for his leadership in securing key rail and NEPA reform provisions in the BUILD America 250 Act," said Paul P. Skoutelas, President and CEO of APTA. "We are especially encouraged by the bill's authorization of advance real property acquisition, which will provide public transit agencies with the flexibility to secure needed land earlier in the process, reduce costs, and deliver projects faster for the riders and communities that depend on them. We look forward to working with Representative Bresnahan and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure to advance this important legislation."

American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA): "The American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA) supports the BUILD America Act which continues the crucial investments made in roadway and work zone safety," said Cameron Greene, Vice President of Government Relations of ATSSA. "The inclusion of provisions such as the Preventing Roadside and Work Zone Deaths Act will help us find ways to best protect our roadway workers as they do their work improving the safety of our roads. The increased investment made to the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) over the current funding levels is crucial to ensuring that lifesaving roadway safety projects can be carried out across the country as we work towards our mission of reaching zero deaths on our roadways. We also applaud the continuation of the Safe Streets and Roads For All grant program and the increased focus in ensuring that those funds go to executing safety projects."

Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations: "The BUILD America 250 Act is an important step forward for MPOs, local governments, and regional transportation planning," said Bill Keyrouze, Executive Director of AMPO. "AMPO is grateful for Rep. Rob Bresnahan and the Committee's bipartisan work during the markup, as well as for the thoughtful provisions included in the bill."

Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET): "Passage of the Railway Safety Act as part of the BUILD America 250 legislation represents three years of hard work by BLET and the Teamsters Rail Conference and is a big step in the right direction," Mark Wallace, President of BLET and Teamsters Rail Conference. "The Railway Safety Act is vital to ensuring that devastating train derailments like the one in East Palestine don't happen again and includes key BLET and Teamsters Rail Conference priorities like a two-person crew requirement, ensuring that high hazard trains carrying hazardous materials have the proper safety protocols in place, regulating wayside detectors to ensure they work properly, and ensuring that locomotive and rail car inspections are done thoroughly without time pressure to rush the inspections. Bipartisan support for the Railway Safety Act was vital to its passage and we want to thank Congressman Bresnahan for his support of BLET and our members on this important matter."

Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division-International Brotherhood of Teamsters (BMWED-IBT): "Track inspection of railroad track is a skillset acquired through hard work, experience and the intrinsic desire to ensure nothing is left to chance. It is imperative for everyone that the railroad be inspected and maintained by the qualified professionals who do it best. Congressman Rob Bresnahan understands this fact," said Tony D. Cardwell, President of BMWED-IBT. "Our Brotherhood and all the railroaders who comprise it thank Congressman Bresnahan for his support on this important issue. Visual track inspection is integral to the safe passage of trains throughout the country, including those in northeastern Pennsylvania. The BUILD America 250 Act as passed by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee contains vital provisions protecting the current twice a week visual track inspections standard while responsibly incorporating automated track technology. This is the safest approach to track safety. Bipartisan support for the Secure Tracks Amendment was vital to its passage and we are grateful to Congressman Bresnahan for his vote on the amendment and his overall support on this important matter to BMWED and our members."

Coalition Against Bigger Trucks (CABT): "The Wayne County Sheriff's Office works hard every day to keep our roads and bridges safe. Allowing heavier trucks on the interstate system, or launching a ten-year experiment to see how many crashes they cause, moves us in the wrong direction," said Sheriff Chris Rosler, Wayne County Sheriff's Office, in support of CABT. "Given no truck trip starts or stops on interstates, the 91,000-pound, 6-axle pilot project that Congressman Bresnahan voted against would have impacted 81 locally funded bridges in our district at a cost of more than $105 million, an unfunded federal mandate on local taxpayers. I'm grateful Congressman Bresnahan stood up for our communities by voting no on these proposals, and I hope our senators recognize how important this issue is to the people on the ground."

National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA): "The Work Zone Safety Coalition - a coalition made up of road builders, contractors, engineers, union workers, material producers and truckers - applauds Congressman Bresnahan for championing work zone safety policies in the BUILD America 250 Act," said Mitch Baldwin, Director of Government Affairs of NAPA. "These policies include the formation of a federal working group to address work zone safety; eligible grant funding for States to implement teen drivers' education on work zone safety; and enhancements to the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP). Congressman Bresnahan brings real-world experience and expertise to this critical issue from his days as a contractor - and that showed during the Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee mark-up. We look forward to these bipartisan provisions being adopted in the final Bill to enhance road worker safety."

National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA): "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," said Nile Elam, Vice President of Government Affairs of NAPA. "Passing a robust, multi-year surface transportation reauthorization package is critical for the nation's asphalt producers, contractors, and pavers - all of whom are dedicated to maintaining and improving the roughly 4 million miles of highways and roads across our country. While there are many NAPA-led policies to spotlight, we are most proud of the various work zone safety initiatives included in the bill that advance the well-being and safety of workers who operate in, and around, roadway work zone sites. We commend the leadership of Congressman Bresnahan - who knows firsthand the experiences operating within an active work zone - and his work partnering with NAPA on commonsense policies like creating a federal working group tasked with addressing work zone safety best practices and useful technologies, as well as enhancing the critical Highway Safety Improvement (HSIP) program within the bill. We thank Congressman Bresnahan for his collaboration and the T&I Committee for their resounding 62-2 markup, and urge colleagues throughout the House to advance work zone safety policies by passing the BUILD America 250 Act as quickly as possible."

Pennsylvania Asphalt Pavement Association (PAPA): "The Pennsylvania Asphalt Pavement Association (PAPA) welcomes the bipartisan markup and passage of the BUILD America 250 Act by the House Transportation & Infrastructure (T&I) Committee this past week," said Mary Robbins, Executive Director of PAPA. "The bill represents a strong investment in Pennsylvania's asphalt pavement industry. Asphalt producers, contractors, and pavers, who work tirelessly to improve and maintain the nearly 120,000 miles of roadway across the Commonwealth, depend on the stable, consistent funding provided through a multi-year surface transportation bill. We commend Congressman Bresnahan for his leadership in advancing key work zone safety initiatives included in the bill. With nearly 1,400 crashes occurring in Pennsylvania work zones in 2025 alone, the importance of work zone safety cannot be overstated. This legislation is critical to ensuring that Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and state transportation agencies across the country receive the stable, reliable funding needed to maintain and modernize the nation's aging infrastructure-an essential foundation for our economy and daily life."

SMART Transportation Division: "In the three years since the East Palestine, OH, rail disaster, there have been more than 3,000 train derailments across our country," said Jared Cassity, National Safety & Legislative Director of SMART Transportation Division. "But, even more concerning, is the lack of response and action to the known dangerous practices of the railroad industry since that day. SMART TD recognizes that it is not always easy to stand up for safety and do the right thing; however, Congressman Bresnahan has done just that. We thank him for being on the right side of safety and for fighting not just for our members, but for his constituents and the American public. Because of him and the 53 other members who voted with him, this nation took the first meaningful step to improve rail safety in more than a generation. Thank you, Rep. Bresnahan, for being a leader and fighting the fight."

Truck Renting and Leasing Association (TRALA): "TRALA wants to thank Congressman Bresnahan for his leadership and support for the amendment during markup last week that would ban lawsuits against leasing and renting companies that do not add optional equipment that is not required by state or federal law," said Jake Jacoby, President and CEO of TRALA. "Allowing lessors to compete in the marketplace without fear from frivolous charges that do not advance safety is critical to ensuring our members continue to lease and rent the trucks that literally move America. TRALA shares Congressman Bresnahan's support of small businesses, as they represent more than 95% of our members' customers. Having a highway reauthorization bill with adequate funding for infrastructure as well as guardrails against inflationary issues will allow our economy to expand and businesses of all sizes to grow and prosper."

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport (AVP): "We are excited to watch the growth of the Wheels to Wings service here at Wilkes-Barre Scranton International Airport (AVP), said BJ Teichman, Assistant Executive Director and Beth Coslett, Air Service Development of AVP. "Regarding our Motorcoach-to-Plane route, just this morning a passenger commented: 'This is the best thing American Airlines did, was add service to PHL. We love it!' Adding the Motorcoach-to-Plane has become very popular at AVP since its' inception in Sept. 2024 as evidenced by its increase in numbers from 11,288 passengers in 2024 to 31,882 in 2025. Since January 2026 there are 9.4% more boardings which represents a 784-passenger increase compared to this time last year. Empirically, this shows the community supports the convenient motorcoach service. The Wilkes-Barre Scranton International Airport would like to thank Congressman Bresnahan and his team for supporting the Motorcoach Enplanement Pilot Program which now counts those riders as 'passenger boardings'."

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