Congressional Oversight of IIJA Continues

What happened: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Administrator Shailen Bhatt June 15 testified before the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee on implementing the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

Highlights from the hearing include:

• Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) questioned whether the administration has legal authority to implement a planned Greenhouse Gas Reporting performance measure. The issue is timely as FHWA recently sent its draft rule to the Office of Management and Budget for final review. ARTBA opposed the draft rule, arguing it is outside FHWA’s scope of authority.
• Bhatt addressed the I-95 collapse in Philadelphia and how the administration is directing resources to rebuild the highway span as fast as possible.
• Committee members discussed whether the additional weight of electric vehicles requires extra safety measures to ensure roadway and guardrail durability.

Why it matters: Congressional oversight of the IIJA is a critical part of its implementation to ensure the letter and spirit of the law is followed.

What’s next: ARTBA continues to raise awareness of the law’s accomplishments by profiling IIJA-funded projects and sharing state-by-state data on the ARTBA Highway Dashboard.