Norton Ensured the New Surface Transportation Reauthorization Bill, the INVEST in America Act, Contained Long-Sought D.C. Priorities

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), chair of the Highways and Transit Subcommittee of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, who helped write the House's new surface transportation reauthorization bill, the INVEST in America Act, today pointed out the portions of the bill that are critical for the District of Columbia.

The bill reauthorizes 10 years of funding for Metro, increasing the funding level each year until it reaches $200 million in the final year. The bill triples funding for Amtrak over five years, more than doubles the funding for technology development, supports research on greener and safer freight movement, reauthorizes the grant program that stimulates enforcement of a law that prohibits racial profiling, increases protections for transit workers against assaults, expands eligibility for safe routes to schools, and provides increased independence or the Metro Inspector General.

"As important as the INVEST in America Act is for the nation, I also used my role in writing the bill to ensure that our own jurisdiction received its most urgent priorities," Norton said. "The District and this region need another full 10 years of funding to fix WMATA, which a significant number of federal workers use to get to work here. In fact, 40% of Metro's peak ridership is comprised of federal workers. The use of technology in transportation and the bill's many climate change innovations make this a break from prior bills to become the nation's first 21st century transportation and infrastructure bill.

"As chair of the subcommittee that wrote the bill, it was my obligation to ensure that this nationwide bill begins here in the nation's capital."