Sponsors (2)
The bill offers targeted financial protection for small businesses and a limited round of federal relief to help certain transit projects finish construction, while shifting costs and administrative burdens to project sponsors and risking uneven eligibility and diversion of funding from other priorities.
Small businesses and nonprofits near major highway or transit construction can receive dedicated reimbursements for lost income, payroll, rent, and other specified expenses during project-related interruptions.
Local and project sponsors may count BUMP Fund contributions toward the project's non‑Federal matching requirement, reducing immediate local cash pressure for match obligations.
Applicants must disclose eligibility, outreach, distribution, verification, and funding amounts, improving transparency and predictability for affected businesses and local governments.
Project sponsors (especially for projects ≥ $100M) must set aside funds for BUMP accounts, which increases upfront project costs and can complicate financing, budgeting, and local fiscal planning.
Allowing BUMP Fund contributions to count as the non‑Federal match risks substituting existing local funds for the match rather than adding new local investment, potentially shifting local funding priorities.
Giving project sponsors broad discretion to define 'covered entities' and eligible expenses risks inconsistent or narrow eligibility across projects and jurisdictions, leaving some affected businesses uncompensated.
Based on analysis of 5 sections of legislative text.
Requires large transit and highway project sponsors to create funds to compensate businesses and nonprofits for construction-related interruptions, sets contribution caps, and establishes a one‑time grant program.
Introduced July 23, 2025 by Jose Luis Correa · Last progress July 23, 2025
Creates a requirement that sponsors of large federally funded transit and highway projects set up funds to compensate private businesses and nonprofit organizations for documented financial harms caused by construction-related interruptions. The law sets project cost thresholds that trigger the requirement, limits how much sponsors must deposit (with different caps for transit and highway programs), allows some fund deposits to count toward the non‑Federal share, and directs the Department of Transportation to issue rules and run a one‑time competitive grant program for certain transit projects. The statute requires applications to describe who is eligible, how payments will be verified and distributed, outreach plans, and per‑entity limits; permits combined funds for multiple projects; keeps funds available for one year after project completion (unless certified otherwise); and gives the Secretary discretion to approve use of Federal funds, waive contribution limits, or disallow ineligible expenses. Implementation and the grant competition must begin within 270 days of enactment.