Washington, DC – Today, Congresswoman Julia Brownley (D-CA) announced the recent introduction of the Climate Resilient Transportation Infrastructure Act, a bill which will require the U.S. Department of Transportation to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the climate resiliency of federally-funded transportation infrastructure.
“As a member of the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, I understand that it is critical that we do more to address the threats that the climate crisis poses to our nation, including our cities, towns, and rural communities,” said Congresswoman Julia Brownley. “We must ensure that all public infrastructure projects, funded by taxpayer dollars, are built to withstand the impacts of climate change, including wildfires, landslides, and floods. These actions will not only strengthen our nation’s transportation infrastructure but will also save taxpayers’ money in the long-term.”
The Climate Resilient Transportation Infrastructure Act would require the Secretary of Transportation to enter into an agreement with the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies to conduct a study of the actions needed to ensure that federal agencies are taking into account current and future climate conditions in planning, designing, building, operating, maintaining, investing in, and upgrading any federally-funded transportation infrastructure investments.
In the 116th Congress, Brownley added similar language as an amendment to the surface transportation reauthorization bill, which was incorporated into the INVEST in America Act and, ultimately, the Moving Forward Act (H.R. 2), a bold and comprehensive bill that invested in American infrastructure and created jobs. The Moving Forward Act passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 233-188 on July 1, 2020.
Read the text of the bill, here.
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Issues: 117th Congress, Climate Crisis, Transportation and Infrastructure