The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on Friday introduced a new $547 billion highway bill draft called the "INVEST in America Act," which contrasts with the Senate highway bill proposal in a few key areas.
The bill proposes spending $1 billion for "a grant program to address the shortage of parking for commercial motor vehicles" and increasing the minimum amount of insurance required for carriers from $750,000 to $2 million, which the FMSCA would be required to adjust for inflation every five years.
The Senate bill, which passed committee unanimously in May, does not mention truck parking or minimum insurance requirements. Other provisions in the House bill would require screening for sleep apnea, place limits on drivers' personal conveyance, and return CSA scores to public view.
[Related: Inside the divide between docs and Congress, truckers over sleep apnea]
The Senate bill deals much less with trucking-specific issues, but both bills take a broad view of "infrastructure" and hope to tackle issues like climate change and increased access to commuter rail. The House bill proposes $4 billion for electric vehicle charging stations and $8.3 billion to reduce carbon emissions. The Senate's bill includes $2.5 billion to create alternative fuel and electric vehicle charging corridors along the National Highway System and $18 billion in climate programs, including $6.4 billion for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and $8.7 billion to increase resilience to and extreme weather.
One of the House bill's authors celebrated the expanded view of infrastructure endorsed by the House, the Senate and President Joe Biden.
“As chair of the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, I believe the country today requires a new and more comprehensive approach well beyond our prior bills,” said Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) in a statement. “For example, this bill takes on entirely new issues never before considered, such as climate change and multi-modal access in and through cities and towns.”
