A Transportation Reform Advocate’s Cheat Sheet to the Next Reauthorization

Congress has officially begun the arduous process of crafting the next surface transportation reauthorization bill — and it’s time for advocates to lock in and get ready to fight for a better one.

To help you keep up with this massive and constantly-evolving story, we’re collecting the highlights from the lengthy reauthorization process all in one place. Bookmark this page, reference it, and drop us a line if we missed anything that you think advocates across America need to know.

(Not sure what all this is about? Check out our Surface Transport 101 explainer about the reauthorization here.)

Here’s where we’ve been so far:

June 2025

• House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chair Sam Graves (R- Mo.) provided an early preview of how his committee will try to shape the next infrastructure package when he published an op-ed in the conservative Washington Times, in which he called for a bill that will “focus on our most fundamental infrastructure needs” (read: highways, roads and bridges), “empower states and limit federal intrusion” (read: less environmental review and fewer equity requirements) and “fixing the Highway Trust Fund” (read: fees on EVs, even though experts say that won’t be nearly enough to shore up the account.)

July 2025

• Federal Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy launched a kick-off event for the next reauthorization, where he pledged to get “America Building Again.”

• USDOT also launched a comment opportunity for the public to weigh in on what it should include in its proposal to Congress for what the next transportation bill should include.