Rep. Mica introduces surface transportation bill

   A new transportation bill was introduced in the U.S. House by Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John L. Mica, R-Fla., and other members of his committee on Tuesday.
   They said the American Energy & Infrastructure Jobs Act (H.R. 7) would authorize approximately $260 billion over five years to fund federal highway, transit and safety programs, “consistent with current funding levels.”
   Mica called it the “largest transportation reform bill since the creation of the Interstate Highway System in 1956” and predicted it “may be the most important jobs measure to pass Congress this year.”
   “The average federal highway project takes 15 years from concept to completion in the U.S. because of excessive regulations,” said House Highways and Transit Subcommittee Chairman John J. Duncan Jr., R-Tenn.
   He added the new bill “will streamline the way we approach infrastructure projects by cutting red tape and reducing federal bureaucracy.” He also said it would improve safety.
   The bill was introduced as various shipper and transportation groups descended on Washington for a “Stand-Up for Trucking” fly-in event on Feb. 1 to lobby on trucking issues.
   Bill Graves, the president and chief executive officer of the American Trucking Associations, said the bill was “a major step forward… from reforming how projects are delivered and refocusing the federal highway program on issues of national interest, like freight movement.”
   ATA said the bill would address truck productivity and hours-of-service issues by changing federal truck size-and-weight reforms and allowing states to open their highways to bigger trucks, reducing costs to American consumers.
   “We’re also thankful this bill directs the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to initiate a field study of its proposed hours-of-service changes, specifically the impacts of the proposed modifications to the 34-hour restart provision,” ATA Chairman Dan England said.

Mica

   Mica said the bill contains no earmarks where the previous long-term law authorizing federal surface transportation programs, known as SAFETEA-LU, contained over 6,300 earmarks.
   Since SAFETEA-LU expired in September 2009, Congress has passed eight short-term extensions.
   One aspect of the bill of interest to the shipping industry calls for funds collected under the harbor maintenance tax to be used for dredging navigation channels to their authorized depths and widths.
   Funds collected through the tax are placed in the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund, but only about half is spent on dredging. The committee said that in fiscal year 2010 the trust fund grew by $1.3 billion, but only $828.6 million was spent. It said “if the status quo continues, the HMTF is estimated to have a balance of $6.93 billion at the end of FY 2012.”
   The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee said it will begin consideration of the transportation reauthorization portion of the bill at a hearing on Thursday morning.
   The committee said the bill will:

• Provide long-term stability for states to undertake major infrastructure projects.
• Consolidate or eliminate nearly 70 federal programs.
• Eliminate mandates that states spend highway funding on non-highway activities.
• Allow states to set their own transportation priorities and delegatemore project approval authority to states.
• Condense deadlines for federal agency project approvals.
• Accelerate the approval process for projects in an existing right-of-way.
• Encourage states to partner with the private sector to finance and build projects.
• Fund the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) program for low-interest loans at $1 billion per year.
• Incentivize states to build on the existing State Infrastructure Bank program rather than creating a new national infrastructure bank that was proposed since 2007 and backed President Obama.

   Sponsors said the bill would also streamline the project delivery process and reduce regulatory burdens for rail projects. It includes a proposal to change the deadline for implementing “positive train control.” The bill also proposes to change regulation for the movement of hazardous materials.
   The bill was warmly greeted by a number of transportation and business organizations.
   “The bill…is a testament to Chairman Mica’s leadership and visionthat improved transportation infrastructure, including in and connecting to seaports, is critical to our nation’s economy, employment gains and international competitiveness, and must be addressed when determining core federal priorities and investments,” said Kurt Nagle, president of the American Association of Port Authorities.
   John Horsley, executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (ASHTO), said “a long-term bill that sustains the surface transportation program at current funding levels is critical to the nation’s economy and creating American jobs.”
   “Our neglected transportation system has created bottlenecks and inefficiencies in the supply chain that stifle U.S. companies’ ability to grow and create jobs that are so badly needed in today’s economy. The sooner a transportation bill can be passed the sooner Americans can be put back to work,” said David French, senior vice president for government relations at the National Retail Federation. — Chris Dupin