The FRAME Act
A complete federal Surface Transportation Act, written from scratch with the practitioners who run the system.
- 3Formula block grants the dozens of current programs consolidate intoSource: FRAME Act
- 3Competitive grants alongside the formula grantsSource: FRAME Act
- 2035Year the Act completes the transition from the gas tax to a vehicle miles traveled feeSource: FRAME Act
The problem
The federal surface transportation program still runs on a structure built for another era: dozens of narrow programs, each with its own rules, and a gas tax that buys less every year. Agencies plan around the categories instead of the outcomes, and the system drifts further behind the country it serves.
What was built
FRAME, the Framework for Rebuilding America's Mobility Economy Act, is a complete replacement statute, written from scratch at the Institute for Civic Service and launched publicly on December 18, 2025. It consolidates dozens of programs into three formula block grants plus three competitive grants, ties funding to performance, and sets the transition from the gas tax to a vehicle miles traveled fee by 2035.
Source: FRAME Act
How it was done
The Act was built the way its author runs programs: start from the work, then write the structure that serves it.
- Write it whole
Draft a complete replacement, not a patch on the old law.
- Consolidate
Fold dozens of narrow programs into three formula block grants plus three competitive grants.
- Pay for performance
Attach accountability to outcomes, so funding follows results.
- Fix the revenue
Set the path from the gas tax to a vehicle miles traveled fee by 2035.
Source: FRAME Act
Documents and artifacts
Credits
- PublisherInstitute for Civic Service
- AuthorJonathan Rewers