Overview
- The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee unveiled the 1,000‑page BUILD America 250 Act that bundles a range of surface‑transportation authorizations and policy changes.
- Lawmakers included a new registration fee on electric vehicles and plug‑in hybrids intended to raise roughly $30 billion over ten years to support the Highway Trust Fund.
- Policy analysts and budget watchdogs say the fee will not close the fund's long‑term revenue gap and that the fund remains at risk of insolvency by 2028.
- The bill contains several provisions critics call unrelated to road repairs, including a bathroom‑access requirement for public establishments over 800 sq ft, a comptroller general review of Amtrak’s food service tied to MAHA guidelines, and a study on buying only American‑made yellow paint for road markings.
- Supporters say the measure advances project delivery and could create local manufacturing jobs, while opponents warn Buy American rules and other mandates could raise taxpayer costs and that the measure now moves to committee markup and fuller House debate.