06/10/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 06/10/2021 10:42
MEMPHIS - Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), a senior member of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, early this morning voted to advance an ambitious, five-year surface transportation bill to the House floor. The measure, the Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation (INVEST) in America Act, contains several of Congressman Cohen's legislative priorities including:
It also incorporates many elements of his other bills including H.R. 1622, the Stop Underrides Act, H.R. 3381, the School Bus Safety Act and H.R. 1289, the Complete Streets Act.
During the mark-up, Congressman Cohen introduced an amendment based off of his recently introduced bill, H.R. 3757, the Multiple Substance Impaired Driving Prevention Act, which would make important changes to the NHTSA Section 405 incentive grant to address multiple substance impaired driving. This amendment was included in Chairman DeFazio's Manager's Amendment, which also passed during the markup.
Finally, three of Congressman Cohen's amendments from last Congress were included that would that would authorize the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to study the inconsistent reporting of alcohol-impaired driving arrest and citation results, direct the Amtrak Working Group to study the reinstatement of dining car service on long-distance routes and sets a date for the establishment of the Committee on Underride Protection.
Congressman Cohen made the following statement:
'The INVEST in America Act is a transformational measure that shows the United States can again 'think big' and meet the critical transportation needs of our country. Major elements of this bill will make a huge difference to the people of the 9th Congressional District. These investments in America will improve and speed up the movement of freight, increase traffic safety, and modernize our transportation infrastructure for the 21st Century.'
The INVEST in America Act includes $32 billion for improvements to bridges just as a cracked beam in the Hernando DeSoto-Interstate 40 Bridge over the Mississippi River at Memphis dramatically demonstrates the need for improving aging infrastructure. It also includes:
You can find more information about the bill here, a fact sheet here, and a section-by-section summary here.
The bill also includes Congressman Cohen's member-designated projects to improve Elvis Presley Boulevard in the Whitehaven community; the purchase of six all-electric buses for the Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA); the reconstruction of the intersection of Poplar Avenue and Cooper Street in Overton Park; the reconstruction of a six-lane intersection in Orange Mound; and the installation of pedestrian- and cyclist-friendly improvements to increase safety at a critical intersection near LeMoyne-Owen College.
###