Transportation Reauthorization Advances in Congress—Transit Advocates Aren't Happy

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee voted this week to advance the Surface Transportation Reauthorization Act of 2021, Congress's five-year reauthorization of the federal surface transportation bill.

2 minute read

May 27, 2021, 9:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Capitol Hill

Julie Clopper / Shutterstock

The Surface Transportation Reauthorization Act of 2021 was introduced on May 22, and on May 26 passed out of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

The transportation reauthorization has traditionally enacted a five-year transportation spending plan for the federal government, though through much of the past decade-plus, shorter, compromise bills have frequently been all Congress could manage to put forward. The previous version of the bill, the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act of 2015, was granted an extension after expiring in 2020, for example.

This time around, the transportation reauthorization bill emerges into a political context made tenuous by the lasting influence of the previous administration as well as the ambitious reforms in infrastructure spending proposed by the current administration in the form of the American Jobs Plan.

Advocates hoping for a new approach to highway spending would curtail the car-centric status quo and aim to reduce car trips instead of inducing them are sorely disappointed. Transportation for America released a statement after the committee's approval of the bill, calling it "another highway bill that cements the broken status quo in place for decades."

"This bill attempts to solve the problems with the transportation system with small, underfunded new programs while spending way more to continue to churn out those same problems." The press release also criticizes the reauthorization for failing to embody the reforms proposed in the American Jobs Plan.

An article by Devon Lovaas, writing for the Natural Resources Defense Council, describes the reauthorization bill as failing to meet the moment. Both Lovaas and another, previous, statement by Transportation for America find good news in the reauthorization, such as, among other features, a mandate to regularly update the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), a requirement that state spend active transportation dollars on active transportation, and an increase in spending on the Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP).

As for the details of the reauthorization the two resources criticize, the list starts with $220 billion allotted for traditional highway programs, specifically the National Highway Performance Program and the Surface Transportation Block Grant Program (STBG). The bill also fails to tighten safety performance measures, does not commit to a "fix-it-first" approach to capital investment, does not require resilience measures in infrastructure projects, and exempts states from measuring and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

For details on what the reauthorization would spend on rail projects, an article by Marybeth Luczak for Railway Age has the breakdown for that mode. That article calls attention to the ongoing funding of the Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Program as well as the increased spending for TAP as a component of the STBG.

Wednesday, May 26, 2021 in Transportation for America

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 16, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Green vintage Chicago streetcar from the 1940s parked at the Illinois Railroad Museum in 1988.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails

Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

July 13, 2025 - WTTV

Blue and silver Amtrak train with vibrant green and yellow foliage in background.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail

The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

July 14, 2025 - Smart Cities Dive

Worker in yellow safety vest and hard hat looks up at servers in data center.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power

Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

July 18 - Inside Climate News

Former MARTA CEO Collie Greenwood standing in front of MARTA HQ with blurred MARTA sign visible in background.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns

MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

July 18 - WABE

Rendering of proposed protected bikeway in Santa Clara, California.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant

A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.

July 17 - San José Spotlight