Garamendi says federal aid earmarked for road infrastructure projects in Solano
But an agreement on infrastructure spending is still a long way off.
(File photo by Matthew Keys/Solano NewsNet)
Congressman John Garamendi on Thursday said he was successful in securing $20 million for a trio of local infrastructure improvement projects through new proposed legislation that would commit hundreds of billions of dollars toward transportation-related initiatives.
The “Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation (INVEST) in America Act” cleared the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee early Thursday morning. Garamedi, whose Congressional district covers most of Solano County (he does not represent Vallejo or Benicia), serves as a senior member of the transportation committee.
As part of the landmark package, Garamendi said he was able to get $20 million allocated to three infrastructure improvement projects in Solano County:
$8.54 million would go toward an over-crossing improvement project in rural Solano County near Winters, with the goal of modifying interchange ramps along State Route 128 and Interstate 505. The project would improve pedestrian and bicyclist crossings through the area and help better connect the city of Winters with the El Rio Villa housing community on the county side.
$7.46 million is earmarked for a Solano Transportation Authority project known as the Jepson Parkway Project. The goal of the project is to provide an alternate to Interstate 80 for motorists who are looking to travel between Leisure Town Road in Vacaville and State Highway 12 in Fairfield. Specifically, the money would go toward improving Vanden Road; it would allow construction crews to widen the road, install bike lanes, erect traffic signals and create sidewalks, among other things.
Another $4 million would be distributed to the Solano Transportation Authority to make various improvements to the Vaca Valley Parkway corridor, including sections of East Monte Vista Avenue and Interstate 505, in Vacaville. Two traffic signals would be replaced in the area, with roundabouts taking their place, which should lead to improved traffic flow through what is becoming an increasingly busy stretch of road.
The INVEST Act offers other provisions that Garamendi said were beneficial to local communities and the country as a whole, including a requirement that contractors “Buy American” in connection with federal infrastructure improvement projects.
The proposal passed the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee largely along partisan lines with a 38-26 vote. Thirty-six Democrats and two Republicans voted in favor of the measure.
The INVEST Act still requires approval from the U.S. House itself as well as the U.S. Senate. In a press release, Garamendi said the proposal approved on Thursday is expected to pass through the House in the coming weeks.
A similar infrastructure bill approved by the committee last year passed in the House, but stalled in the Senate.
There is no guarantee this year’s House proposal will pass through the Senate, either: Senate lawmakers are working on their own infrastructure spending proposals, and it was not clear if their proposals mirrored any of the provisions of the House committee-approved bill.
On Thursday, a bipartisan consortium of 10 Senators unveiled their infrastructure plan that would commit $1.2 trillion in infrastructure spending over the course of eight years. The spending would be paid for with existing federal funds instead of through corporate tax hikes, which had been originally proposed earlier in the talks.
The compromise was unveiled less than two days after the White House ended its negotiations with a group of Senate Republicans over proposed infrastructure spending. After those discussions ended, the White House increasingly focused on the bipartisan compromise being developed by the 10 Senate lawmakers, according to The Hill.
On Thursday, a White House spokesperson told CNN that President Joe Biden “appreciates the Senators' work to advance critical investments we need to create good jobs, prepare for our clean energy future, and compete in the global economy.”
“Questions need to be addressed, particularly around the details of both policy and pay-fors, among other matters,” Andrew Bates, the White House spokesperson, told the news outlet.
President Biden has not offered his own comments on either the House or Senate infrastructure spending proposals. He is currently participating in the Group of Seven (G7) Summit in the United Kingdom and is expected to hold several meetings with European heads of state over the next several days, which will likely keep his focus on foreign affairs.
The president’s approval of either infrastructure proposals could be the key to winning over liberal lawmakers within his own party, who have increasingly called for an end to bipartisan talks in favor of a more-progressive plan.
Republican support will also be needed to advance a spending bill to the president for his signature; currently, Republican lawmakers are hesitant to approve a bill that includes provisions for progressive initiatives, including money to boost clean energy and the growing electric vehicle market.
Whatever ultimately passes both chambers of Congress will likely be built upon compromise, and it is unclear how much local improvement projects will ultimately get once the dust settles.
“We should have most of this on the floor of the House in July,” Garamendi said in an interview broadcast by CNN on Thursday. “And then the final negotiations in August, early September — I think we will be on (track) to get it done.”
Garamendi said it will ultimately be up to his Republican counterparts to make a choice as to how the infrastructure improvement budget advances.
“Republicans are going to have to make a choice: They’re either going to seriously negotiate, which they are not now doing in my estimation, or face a reconciliation process,” Garamendi said. “We would much prefer to have Republican votes.”
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