Senate EPW hearing finds IIJA formula funding widely used but implementation slowed by costs, permitting and grant delays

Senate Environment and Public Works Committee members and witnesses reviewed progress implementing the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and identified clear benefits from formula funding while flagging several implementation challenges.

The hearing opened with Chair Capito welcoming witnesses and framing the committee's oversight of IIJA implementation. Ranking Member Whitehouse and witnesses from state departments of transportation, contractors and city transportation officials said formula programs have delivered reliable funding but that rising costs and administrative obstacles are slowing project delivery.

AASHTO representative Russell McMurray, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Transportation, testified that core formula programs have been “vital” and provide the multi-year funding certainty states use for planning and delivering projects. “The IIJA's federal surface transportation funding has absolutely been vital to every state DOT to safely move people and goods,” McMurray said, citing Georgia’s reliance on formula dollars for capital maintenance and bridge work.

McMurray and other witnesses described cost pressures that have eroded IIJA’s increased buying power: McMurray cited statewide cost increases he said Georgia has observed (60% increases for bridge work, 66% for resurfacing and more than 115% for widening projects). Gary Johnson, vice president of Granite Construction, said the law has driven record opportunities for contractors but urged continued investment and attention to supply-chain issues such as aggregate and asphalt binder availability.

Witnesses also stressed obstacles tied to discretionary grants and permitting. McMurray and Mike Carroll, president of the National Association of City Transportation Officials and deputy managing director for Philadelphia, said some discretionary programs have taken months or years to move from award to executed grant agreement. McMurray said one local grant in Georgia took 31 months from notice of funding opportunity to award execution. Carroll said local governments have used IIJA discretionary grants for projects such as Philadelphia’s Chinatown Stitch planning award and Safe Streets work but warned that grant agreement delays and uncertainty increase local costs and disrupt contracting and workforce planning.

Multiple witnesses pointed to permitting and environmental review timelines as a delivery bottleneck. McMurray described state-level steps Georgia has taken — co-locating federal resource-agency staff to speed reviews — and referred to NEPA assignment in other states as producing measurable time savings. Senators from both parties pressed witnesses on how to reduce review time for safety-focused or small-scale projects, with witnesses suggesting clearer categorical exclusions, certification of processes that work at the state level and broader use of NEPA assignment where appropriate.

Buy America rules were also raised. Johnson and McMurray said they support domestic manufacturing goals but urged predictable waiver processes and a centralized database of compliant materials to avoid inconsistent approvals across states. Johnson recommended preserving IIJA exemptions for aggregates and paving materials and urged greater clarity and speed in waiver decisions.

Committee members repeatedly raised concerns about recent administrative actions and staffing changes at the Department of Transportation and other federal agencies. Witnesses said those shifts — including reduced staffing at agencies that process environmental permits — can contribute to delays in grant execution, increase costs and disrupt projects already under way.

The committee kept its record open for additional submissions and asked witnesses to provide follow-up responses for the record. No formal committee vote or policy decision was made during the hearing; senators and witnesses emphasized oversight and the need for legislative fixes in the next surface transportation reauthorization.

Looking ahead, witnesses urged Congress to preserve and, where appropriate, increase core formula funding, streamline grant and permitting processes, address supply-chain and Buy America implementation issues, and provide states and localities more flexibility in deploying IIJA-authorized funds.