The Department of Transportation has just announced that it is rescinding two memorandums issued during the Biden administration regarding the construction of infrastructure projects.
Published in late 2021, the memo “Policy on Using Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Resources to Build a Better America,” along with an updated February 2023 memo, was designed to give precedence to highway, road, and bridge projects that both promoted social justice as well as furthering climate resiliency goals.
At the time of the publication of the second memo, the Federal Highway Administration said it was committed to “ensuring progress in safety, resilience, and equity in the delivery of the federal aid highway program.”
The initiative was opposed by such groups as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the American Road & Transportation Builders Association, and the Associated General Contractors of America, who called it a bureaucratic intrusion and worried that it might set a pattern for future policy pronouncements made without a formal notice and comment period.
Now, in revoking the two memos, new Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy called the Biden administration actions “an act of federal overreach.”
“The Department of Transportation is getting back to basics,” continued Duffy, “building critical infrastructure projects that move people and move commerce safely.”
In a separate statement, the Transportation Department said the earlier memos had “no basis in statute.” The Biden orders“displaced the long-standing authorities granted to states by law,” and added “costly burdens related to greenhouse gas emissions and equity initiatives.”
Responding to the Duffy announcement, Dave Bauer, chief executive officer of the American Road & Transportation Builders Association, lauded the move, saying that it affirms a “long-standing foundation of the federal aid highway program,” while “removing any doubt about the authority of states to use highway formula funds in a manner that best meets their unique needs.”
But in an interview with the Associated Press, Roishetta Ozane, founder of the environmental justice group Vessel Project of Louisiana, remarked: “It feels like we’re moving backward in our efforts to ensure that all communities benefit equitably from infrastructure investment.”
Ozane added that the Duffy announcement represents a “broader disregard for the voices advocating for a more just and sustainable future.”
March 11, 2025
By Garry Boulard
Photo courtesy of US Department of Transportation
