Over his years in office, Rep. Peter DeFazio has become one of the staunchest proponents for increasing federal dollars to repair and modernize the nation’s infrastructure.
As chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives, DeFazio was instrumental during the lengthy legislative negotiations that culminated in the $1 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that President Joe Biden signed in November. As he looks toward wrapping up his career in Congress — DeFazio is not seeking reelection this fall — he listed the sweeping legislative package among his achievements.
“We finally got that done,” he said during an appearance on Transport Topics’ Newsmakers program, noting that while the measure did not include everything he wanted — “My bill had more money in it,” he said — the measure’s passage clears the way for billions of dollars in funds for bridge repairs and replacements to begin funneling to states.
The infrastructure law dedicates about $500 billion for highway-centric programs affecting nearly every mobility corridor in the country, and aims to pave the way for the adoption of severe-weather resilience across infrastructure systems.
While the law provides states with flexibility to allocate funds as they fit, DeFazio supports an approach espoused by the Federal Highway Administration that’s commonly called “fix it first.” Outlined in a Dec. 16 memo from the agency, the approach prioritizes repairs to existing infrastructure over new projects.
“It is good policy,” he said, noting that more than 40,000 bridges along the national highway system need substantial repair or replacement. “Fixing it first and preserving what we have makes a hell of a lot of sense, before you’re rushing out and do a new capacity while your bridge is over here falling down,” DeFazio said.
“It’s only guidance,” DeFazio added, “If Texas wants to pave over the whole state and use their money to do that, have at it.”
Most Republican transportation policymakers have questioned Democrats’ interpretation of the FHWA memo, and prefer to let states make their own determinations on allocating the funds. DeFazio lamented that the Senate version of the infrastructure law omitted funding for truck parking that was contained in the House version.
“I had $1 billion for grants for truck parking in my version,” he said. “Unfortunately, the Senate blew that off. I don’t know why. This is a huge, huge crisis.”