Safety, Investment, Development: Priorities for the Next Surface Transportation Bill

DEL. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON (D-DC)
Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure

As Congress considers the next surface transportation bill in 2026, we must prioritize safety. Make no mistake, we are living through a public health crisis. More than 40,000 people died on our roadways in 2023. Remarkably, this number represents a five percent improvement from where we were in 2021.

The brunt of these deaths has been borne by pedestrians, cyclists, and communities of color. We cannot allow this trend to continue. We cannot allow any more families to be devastated.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) took safety seriously. For example, the Safe Streets and Roads for All program was established to help local governments plan and build out projects to improve safety and reduce roadway safety deaths. Through this program, 75 percent of the nation’s population will be covered by these safety plans.

The BIL also increased funding for the Highway Safety Improvement Program by 34 percent to help states implement data-driven safety plans. It created a new Vulnerable Road User Special Rule to direct more dollars to projects that protect those not traveling in vehicles.

Another important part of the solution is vehicle design. Last year, NHTSA issued a new standard to require automatic emergency braking to reduce crashes. This rule is anticipated to save 360 lives and prevent at least 24,000 injuries per year.

However, there is still work to be done to improve safety. We should support local governments by continuing these locally driven efforts and connecting them with funding to build out these safety plans. Any reauthorization legislation must make meaningful progress on this issue. Safety is nonnegotiable.

In particular, truck safety must be prioritized. I have long supported strong entry-level driver training standards that highlight safety. Additionally, freight fraud is plaguing the trucking industry. Fraudulent brokers, carriers and operators are using deceptive practices to steal from businesses and take advantage of consumers. That’s why I introduced, with Representative Mike Ezell (R-MS), the bipartisan, bicameral Household Goods Shipping Consumer Protection Act, which would clarify the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s authority to prevent scammers’ costly and unsafe operations from launching. I hope to see this legislation included in the next surface reauthorization bill.

Another bill I would like to see included in the reauthorization is my Union Station Redevelopment Corporation Funding Eligibility Act, which would allow USRC, the nonprofit managing Union Station’s expansion project, to apply for federal infrastructure grants. Union Station is a vital local, regional, and national intermodal transportation hub that welcomes approximately 70,000 travelers and visitors each day, but it has not undergone a major renovation in nearly 40 years. The Union Station Expansion Project represents a historic transportation and economic development opportunity for Washington, DC, and the national capital region, and my USRC Funding Eligibility Act will give USRC access to the critical funding needed to carry it out.

We must mitigate the impact of our transportation on the environment, especially from gas-powered vehicles. Transportation is the largest source of emissions in the U.S., and our policies and programs must be reformed accordingly. Expanding access to transit, walking, and biking is critical.

In the post-COVID era, public transportation has made a comeback, regaining 84 percent of riders across every mode since the earliest days of the pandemic. Transit systems are steadily recovering from pandemic ridership loss.

Here in the national capital region, Metro recently surpassed one million daily riders—a five-year high. Metro has led the country in ridership recovery, with 48 consecutive months of ridership growth. You don’t have to be a transit rider yourself to celebrate these gains. Every dollar Congress invests in transit generates five dollars in economic returns. Without public transit, the D.C. region would lose more than $9 billion worth of economic activity due to traffic gridlock, delays in freight shipments, and lack of access to jobs.

The BIL provided $108 billion to upgrade and modernize transit systems, and the next surface reauthorization bill must continue this trend.

As Ranking Member of the Highways and Transit Subcommittee, I look forward to working with my colleagues on all these priorities in the next surface transportation reauthorization bill.