The House passed a controversial 1,000-plus-page, GOP-lead “one big, beautiful” budget reconciliation bill by a razor thin 215-214 margin in May, handing down a slate of troubling measures that experts are say will kick millions of people off Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, bar transgender minors and adults from accessing gender-affirming healthcare through government programs, “effectively halt the clean energy boom,” impose a new $1,000 fee on immigrants seeking asylum, and much more. Transportation industry advocates are trying to get the Republican-controlled Senate to fix the bill, which is being called “big, bad news for America’s transportation future,” according to StreetsBlog USA.
StreetsBlog USA reported that, “The bill will more than double the current deficit despite steep cuts to social safety net and climate programs, which experts say will be largely used to offset tax perks for the ultra-rich.” According to Rep. Rick Larsen (D–Wash.), ranking member on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, “the legislation will benefit the top 0.1% of wealthiest Americans by an average of $255,000 a year, or about $700 a day.”
Implications for surface transportation and infrastructure include:
The end of the EV tax credit: The bill seeks to eliminate the $4,000 and $7,500 tax credits for used and new electric vehicles (EVs), respectively, by the end of 2025, giving car buyers little time to snap up the rebates before they vanish. Automakers that have sold fewer than 200,000 clean vehicles will be granted a little more time to meet their caps, at least until the end of 2026. An electrification tax credit to qualified commercial vehicles was also axed.
New Fees are Being Added for EV Owners: The bill would charge drivers $250/year to register an EV and hybrid car owners would have to pay $100/year. None of the money would benefit transit, unlike the gas tax, which historically has devoted 20% of revenues to shared modes.
Some Nasty Rescissions: According to StreetsBlog USA, perhaps the most devastating cut to the transportation sections of the budget bill hits the Neighborhood Access and Equity Grant program, which would lose 97% of its funding. The bill would also repeal all not-yet-obligated money in a fund designed to help communities do more efficient and effective environmental reviews.
Americans who don’t agree with these cuts can call their reps in the Senate to demand that funding be restored.
Sources: StreetsBlog USA, Windels Marx
