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Highway Legislation Awaits House Consideration
ATA Among Transportation Groups Touting Bill’s Committee Approval
Key Takeaways:
- The BUILD America 250 Act would authorize $580 billion over five years for surface transportation programs.
- The bill includes dedicated funding to expand and improve truck parking along major freight corridors.
- Industry and transportation groups praised the measure, though floor action timelines remain uncertain.
WASHINGTON — When the House returns from its Memorial Day recess, lawmakers are expected to take up a sweeping highway policy bill that would amplify a federal funding stream for truck parking.
The BUILD America 250 Act, approved May 22 by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, would authorize $580 billion over five years for surface transportation programs and aims to shore up the Highway Trust Fund while addressing long-standing safety and freight mobility challenges.
A key provision for the trucking industry would establish grants to expand and improve truck parking capacity along major freight corridors. Industry groups have warned for years that a lack of safe, reliable parking forces drivers to choose between violating hours-of-service rules or parking in unsafe locations.
American Trucking Associations praised the committee’s approval of the bill, citing both infrastructure investment levels and the truck parking funding.
“The robust funding for roads and bridges as well as dedicated funding for truck parking will support our essential work and the supply chain. For the first time in decades, this bill would establish a new source of revenue for the Highway Trust Fund by requiring contributions from electric vehicles,” said ATA President Chris Spear on May 22. “Additionally, ATA welcomes the integration of common-sense policies that will enhance safety standards and promote strong driver qualifications.”
Beyond parking, the bill includes several other trucking-related provisions. These include requirements to improve restroom access for commercial drivers, an expansion of a federal apprenticeship program for younger truck drivers, enhanced consumer protections in the household goods sector, and initiatives aimed at recruiting and retaining military veterans in the trucking workforce.
Ahead of tomorrow's markup of the BUILD America 250 Act, T&I leaders @RepSamGraves and @RepRickLarsen discuss the bipartisan surface transportation reauthorization bill that invests in America’s roads, bridges, transit, rail, and safety programs.
Watch here pic.twitter.com/Ee5ju9dD73 — T&I Committee Republicans (@TransportGOP) May 20, 2026
The measure also lays the groundwork for a national policy framework governing autonomous commercial motor vehicles and proposes mechanisms to ensure electric vehicles help support the Highway Trust Fund. The fund relies primarily on federal fuel taxes of 18.4 cents per gallon for gasoline and 24.4 cents per gallon for diesel, rates that have not changed since 1993.
House sponsors say the bill is designed to maintain the trust fund’s solvency through the end of the decade.
House leaders have yet to announce floor consideration for the measure, and Senate transportation leaders have not indicated the timeline for their version of a surface transportation reauthorization bill. Current highway authorization expires Sept. 30.
Following the committee vote, outgoing Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Sam Graves (R-Mo.) said the bill prioritizes core surface transportation programs while promoting innovation and improving project delivery.
“This bill makes historic investments in our bridges and other critical infrastructure, reduces costs and delays in building, ensures states have the resources and flexibility they need, bolsters the Highway Trust Fund, fosters innovation, and provides a framework for safely integrating autonomous commercial motor vehicles onto our highways,” Graves observed.
Big news: The House T&I Committee has passed a landmark highway bill—and it’s packed with wins for America’s trucking industry.
These provisions ATA championed will increase safety, improve efficiency, and reduce freight transportation costs.
A stronger supply chain… pic.twitter.com/S3oRnVqvf7 — American Trucking (@TRUCKINGdotORG) May 22, 2026
Committee ranking member Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.) said the measure would support job creation while modernizing the nation’s transportation network.
“The BUILD America 250 Act will create good-paying jobs while restoring aging bridges, repairing crumbling roads, and supporting safe, accessible rail, transit and bike infrastructure,” Larsen said.
Major transportation stakeholders also welcomed the bill’s advancement.
“Enacting this bill before the [Biden-era infrastructure law] expires, especially in light of the nation’s 250th anniversary, is essential and a bipartisan acknowledgment of the need for maintaining the continuity and reliability of infrastructure projects and programs delivered by state departments of transportation,” said American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials President Russell McMurry, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Transportation.
“The United States needs a surface transportation reauthorization bill that makes sustained, strategic investments in our nation’s infrastructure to strengthen global competitiveness, create jobs, support American manufacturing and exports, and improve safety for workers and communities,” noted American Road and Transportation Builders Association Chairman Tony Fassino, group president of construction industries for Caterpillar Inc.
