Bill > HR502

This bill, known as the Protecting Infrastructure Investments for Rural America Act, modifies the Rural Surface Transportation Grant Program to make it more accessible to smaller and rural communities. The key changes include redefining the population threshold for eligible areas from over 200,000 to 30,000 or less, and introducing a new category of "small community" for areas outside urbanized regions with 5,000 or fewer residents. The bill expands the program's objectives to explicitly include generating economic growth and improving quality of life in rural areas. It increases the federal funding share for projects in small communities to up to 90% and mandates that at least 5% of program funds be allocated to projects in small communities each fiscal year. Additionally, the bill broadens the types of eligible projects to include highways, roads, bridges, and tunnels that would benefit the economic development or quality of life of the community. These modifications aim to provide more infrastructure support and funding opportunities for smaller, rural communities that may have been previously underserved by the grant program.

Transportation and Infrastructure

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/502/all-info