House and Senate Move Forward with Competing Transportation Infrastructure Bills

The briefing outlines the differences between the House bill (H.R. 7) and the Senate bill (S. 1813) regarding funding levels, revenue sources, and priorities for public transit and infrastructure. While the Senate bill is a bipartisan two-year compromise, the House bill is a more divisive five-year proposal that suggests funding infrastructure through oil drilling and pension contribution increases.

• The Senate bill (S. 1813) is a bipartisan, two-year reauthorization that provides $109 billion in total funding, with annual funding of $54.5 billion. It includes a provision to allow some federal funds to be used for transit operating expenses and authorizes $1 billion for a competitive grant program for projects of national and regional significance.
• The House bill (H.R. 7) is a five-year proposal with $260 billion in total funding ($52 billion annually) that is more politically divisive. It proposes eliminating dedicated federal funding for public transportation in favor of a one-time $40 billion allotment from the General Fund and seeks to reduce Amtrak funding by 25%.
• To address the funding gap caused by inadequate federal gas tax revenues, the House bill proposes removing the ban on drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and off-shore. However, CBO analysis indicates these measures would only generate $2.4 billion in new revenue over five years and $1.9 billion in the following five years, failing to cover the tens of billions needed.
• Both the House and Senate bills include directives for research to improve the flexibility and resiliency of infrastructure systems to withstand climate variability.

APA

Cross, J.-M. (2012). House and Senate Move Forward with Competing Transportation Infrastructure Bills. Environmental and Energy Study Institute. https://www.eesi.org/files/transportation_bills_020912.pdf

Chicago

Cross, John-Michael. House and Senate Move Forward with Competing Transportation Infrastructure Bills. Environmental and Energy Study Institute, 2012. https://www.eesi.org/files/transportation_bills_020912.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Cross |first1=John-Michael |title=House and Senate Move Forward with Competing Transportation Infrastructure Bills |publisher=Environmental and Energy Study Institute |date=February 2012 |url=https://www.eesi.org/files/transportation_bills_020912.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{cross2012house, author = {Cross, John-Michael}, title = {{House and Senate Move Forward with Competing Transportation Infrastructure Bills}}, institution = {Environmental and Energy Study Institute}, year = {2012}, month = feb, url = {https://www.eesi.org/files/transportation_bills_020912.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }