The Senate, and now the House, have passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). President Biden is expected to sign the bill this week. ACSM has been involved with this bill from the beginning, advocating for more funding that will help ensure safe and accessible active transportation.
Why it matters: A few benefits of passing this bill include:
- Funding for transportation alternatives and new rules to make the program easier to use for local governments.
- Increased safety for all bicyclists and pedestrians.
- More safety research and guidance for states.
- Complete streets standards and related funding, as well as accessibility data to better measure how well a proposed project will connect people to everyday destinations like school, work, shops and health care facilities.
- Better vehicle safety with updates to the New Car Assessment Program (NCAP)), and new safety standards for headlights, hoods and bumpers.
- SMART Grants to help cities employ and experiment with new technologies.
The details: The IIJA is the largest-ever federal investment in transportation infrastructure. The package consists of $1.2 trillion in total spending, a $550 billion increase in funding over the the previous transportation reauthorization bill, the FAST Act. It includes significant new surface transportation funding that will be spent over the next five years.
Spread the word: Help us share the good news. Like, share or retweet our related messages on ACSM social media accounts. You can also learn more about our advocacy efforts and how to get involved by
connecting with Monte Ward, ACSM’s vice president of government relations.