Although the legislation Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which is a $1.2 trillion infra package, appeared to be in the final stages of passing in the House of Representatives last week, ongoing disputes between the centrist and progressive wings of the Democratic Party delayed the vote, an RVIA report said.
Progressive Democrats insist they must pass the infra bill together with an additional reconciliation package that includes social spending priorities. Democrats within their respective chambers in the House, Senate, and White House continue to negotiate on a reconciliation plan which could cost anywhere between $1.5 trillion up to $3.5 trillion.
The $1.2 trillion hard infrastructure bill, which renews surface transportation programs and provides $550 billion in federal infrastructure investments for 5 years has previously been passed by the Senate on a bipartisan basis.
The bill is a historic investment in the nation’s most important infrastructure needs such as bridges, roads, highways, clean water, high-speed internet, transit, rail, and many provisions that will benefit the RV industry, according to RVIA’s News & Insights.
While fixing our roads and bridges on and around our nation’s iconic parks, forests, and gateway communities is a good economic investment for our country generally, these investments will also go a long way to improve the RV consumer experience and increase access to the great outdoors for all Americans,” said RV Industry Association Director of Government Affairs Chris Bornemann.
“This essential funding will help deploy critical EV technologies and ensure that current and future RVers are able to travel on safe and adequate roads to access unparalleled outdoor experiences for generations to come.”
The RV Industry Associations Government Affairs Team has been working closely with Congress and the Administration to advance key RV industry priorities as part of the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill, such as:
- Securing over $7 billion in funding for key federal lands infrastructure programs aimed at improving the roads, bridges, tunnels, parking lots, access points, and other critical transportation-related infrastructure on and around our national parks, forests, and public lands that RVers rely on for safe and adequate outdoor recreation and camping experiences. This includes increased investments for the Federal Lands Transportation Program (25% increase), Federal Lands Access Program (14% increase), and Nationally Significant Federal Lands and Tribal Project Program (355% increase), as well as a new $2 billion grant program.
- Securing $100 million to restore recreation sites, including campgrounds, within the National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service
- Advocating for increased investment in electric vehicle infrastructure, which resulted in an initial $7.5 billion investment to deploy publicly accessible electric vehicle charging infrastructure, hydrogen fueling infrastructure, propane fueling infrastructure, and natural gas fueling infrastructure along highway corridors to facilitate long-distance travel and within communities. Federal funding will have a particular focus on rural, disadvantaged, and hard-to-reach areas where RVers frequently travel.
- Advocating for the creation of a $2 billion grant program to improve and expand surface transportation projects, including enhancing recreational and tourism opportunities by providing increased access to federal lands, national parks, national forests, national recreation areas, national wildlife refuges, wilderness areas, or state parks that RVers visit daily.