Bill · S. 2619· Senate(119-S-2619)
MORE DOT Grants Act
- Introduced
- 7/31/2025
- Last activity
- 7/31/2025 — Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
- Sponsored by
- Catherine Cortez Masto
- Cosponsors
- - 1 - 1
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
The MORE DOT Grants Act aims to improve how Department of Transportation grants are awarded to specific counties and local governments. This includes counties where more than 50 percent of the land is owned or managed by the Federal Government and has a population of 100,000 or fewer. The bill targets various qualifying grant programs to assist these specific jurisdictions. It introduces reduced local matching requirements and provides for additional technical assistance. Furthermore, the act establishes priority and special consideration for these areas during the application process.
Yes· 3 of 9
Would people in rural areas be better off under this?+6
The bill specifically targets rural, low-population counties to improve their access to federal transportation and infrastructure funding.
Would Native Americans be better off under this?+5
The bill provides special consideration and technical assistance specifically for Tribal governments within high-density public land counties.
Does this repair or build roads and bridges?+5
The bill provides easier access to various Department of Transportation grant programs for rural infrastructure projects.
The opposite
No question was scored the opposite.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
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Reduced Financial Burden: Local governments in high-density public land counties will see their local matching fund requirements reduced by 50 percent for qualifying grant programs (Section 3(a)).
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Increased Support and Guidance: The Secretary of Transportation is required to provide additional technical assistance to high-density public land counties and their local or Tribal governments before and during the annual application period (Section 3(b)).
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Priority in Funding: Application approval will prioritize high-density public land counties, local governments, or Tribal governments that have not received support from a qualifying grant program in the previous 10 years (Section 3(c)(1)).
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Access to Rural Set-Asides: The Secretary must give special consideration to applications from these areas regarding any rural set-asides established by Congress (Section 3(d)(1)).
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Removal of Barriers: The Secretary may offer flexibility regarding requirements that might disadvantage small communities, such as scoring based on large numerical size or impact, requirements to partner with outside institutions, or overly complicated application processes (Section 3(e)).
Potential Negative Impacts for People
- No negative impacts are explicitly stated in the provided text.
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Good For Rural Residents+6Good For Native Americans+5Good For Low Income Households+1
- Environment Energy And Infrastructure
- Improves Roads And Bridges+5Improves Public Transit+4
- Economy And Finance
- Improves Economic Growth+2Increases Job Creation+1
- Governance And Ideology
- Improves Government Transparency+1
- Social Issues And Justice
- Improves Poverty Reduction+1
- 7/31/2025
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
- 2 Cosponsors added.
- Introduced in Senate
Steve DainesRepublican · Montana
Adam SchiffDemocrat · California