争议继续在国会山上在联邦高速公路管理指导备忘录中慢小火，该备忘录鼓励各州使用基础设施投资和就业法案公式资金用于道路，桥梁维修和康复项目，而不是容量扩张。18luck官网
Thedocument，在3月2日的参议院环境和公共工程委员会听证会上，由FHWA副行政长官斯蒂芬妮·波拉克（Stephanie Pollack）于去年12月16日发布，这是讨论的主要话题，其主题是美国运输部如何实施其地标IIJA的一部分。
The committee has jurisdiction over highway policy and was responsible for writing major highway and bridge provisions in the IIJA. Highways and bridges receive the largest share of funds among the various infrastructure sectors in the legislation.
在听证会上，小组最高共和党参议员雪莱·摩尔·卡皮托（W.Va.）强烈批评了备忘录。听证会上唯一的证人的运输部长皮特·巴特吉格（Pete Buttigieg）在委员会主席汤姆·卡珀（Tom Carper）（D-Del。）的支持下为该文件辩护。Buttigieg在证词中没有表明DOT正在考虑指导备忘录的任何变化。
联邦机构的指导文件没有与正式法规相同的法律权重，但FHWA指导引起了异常强烈的兴趣。
The document states that it is intended to be "an overarching framework to prioritize the use of [IIJA] resources on projects that will Build a Better America."
它还补充说,指导是确保我IJA funding be implemented, to the extent that statutes allow, to "encourage" states "to invest in projects that upgrade the condition of streets, highways and bridges and make them safe for all users, while at the same time modernizing them so that the transportation network is accessible for all users, provides people with better choices across all modes, accommodates new and emerging technologies, is more sustainable and resilient to a changing climate and is more equitable."
Capito的批评
Capito在听证会上说：“该备忘录试图限制国家的灵活性，并强加一种适合所有解决方案，以满足所有社区的地面运输需求。”
She added, “It discourages states from moving forward with projects that add highway capacity and instead prioritizes projects that improve existing surface transportation assets.”
Capito also said that the memo “creates winners and losers” among projects depending on their level of review under the National Environmental Policy Act.
Buttigieg, Carper Defend Memo
Buttigieg told the EPW committee, “I want to make clear that we recognize and value the role of the states in deciding how to prioritize the use of formula dollars as laid out in the law.”
他补充说：“在运输资产方面，必须重新配置和现代化，扩展，添加或退休和更换运输资产，有不同的国家和社区的需求。”
Carper said that in working on the IIJA highway provisions, his goals included enhancing transportation systems' sustainability and resilience, improved safety and "addressing the backlog of repairs for roads and bridges in poor condition."
He added that he was pleased to see the Biden administration encourage—"notice I said 'encourage,' underline that 'encourage,' not 'require' "—states to use federal highway funds to prioritize these same goals.
Carper asked Buttigieg whether the memo prevents states from choosing to use formula funding for highway projects that add highway capacity, and Buttigieg replied, “No, it doesn’t.”
There is some history to the controversy. On Feb. 18, Capito and 28 other Republican senatorswrote要撤销备忘录或进行实质修改。签署人包括少数党领袖米奇·麦康奈尔（R-Ky。）。
Updating IIJA Funding Rollout
在听证会上，Buttigieg还提供了有关DOT实施其IIJA部分的状态报告。他说，在过去的90天内，它已向各州和地区提供了600亿美元的授权资金，并为申请程序开放了额外的20亿美元可支配赠款。
这笔600亿美元的资金包括520亿美元的公式高速公路和桥梁计划资金分配给各州。
