HEAT Act of 2025
Summary
What This Bill Does
The HEAT Act treats extreme heat as an infrastructure hazard. It cites bridge expansion joint failures, concrete and steel degradation, heat-stressed older bridges, movable bridge breakdowns, emergency cooling measures, freight and commuter disruption, rural isolation, emergency response delays, and the fact that current highway emergency relief law does not explicitly identify extreme heat. The bill amends 23 U.S.C. 125 to include extreme heat and heat waves in emergency relief language and clarifies that the subsection excluding certain bridge work does not apply to bridges whose physical deterioration was substantially caused by extreme heat exposure. It also requires DOT to enter an agreement with the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies within one year to study measurable heat-event costs, damage tracking separate from ordinary deterioration, and how DOT can help state DOTs, transit systems, Amtrak, freight rail, and other parties. DOT must issue a best management practices report on highway and bridge safety related to extreme heat within one year.
Who Benefits and How
State departments of transportation, transit agencies, Amtrak, freight rail systems, rural communities, commuters, emergency responders, and bridge users benefit from clearer eligibility and guidance for heat-damaged infrastructure.
Who Bears the Burden and How
DOT staff, the Transportation Research Board, EPA, state DOTs, transit systems, Amtrak, freight rail systems, and infrastructure operators must participate in study, consultation, tracking, and best-practices work. Federal highway funds may face additional claims if extreme heat becomes a clearer emergency relief category.
Key Provisions
- Expands federal highway emergency relief language to include extreme heat and heat waves.
- Requires a Transportation Research Board study on heat-event costs, damage tracking, and DOT support for transportation operators.
- Directs DOT to issue a best management practices report on highway and bridge safety related to extreme heat within one year.
- Clarifies treatment of bridges whose physical deterioration was substantially caused by extreme heat exposure.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Adds extreme heat and heat waves to federal highway emergency relief, requires an extreme-heat transportation damage study, and directs DOT best-practices guidance for heat-related highway and bridge safety.
Key Policy Areas
Transportation, Environment, State & Local Government
Primary Purpose
Adds extreme heat and heat waves to federal highway emergency relief, requires an extreme-heat transportation damage study, and directs DOT best-practices guidance for heat-related highway and bridge safety.
Policy Domains
Substantive provisions
Identified Gains
- state transportation departments
- transit agencies
- Amtrak
- freight rail systems
- rural communities
- commuters
Identified Costs
- Department of Transportation staff
- Transportation Research Board researchers
- Environmental Protection Agency staff
- federal highway funds
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeReferred to the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit.
Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Introduced in House
Mr. Stanton (for himself and Mr. Lawler) introduced the following …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Amtrak tracking heat-related infrastructure damage, bridge operators using extreme heat guidance, bridge users affected by extreme heat damage
Department of Transportation best-practices staff, Department of Transportation study staff
state transportation departments tracking heat damage, state transportation departments using heat guidance
rural communities facing heat-related transportation disruption
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "Secretary"
- → Secretary of Transportation
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology