Senate committee advances short-term transport fix

Senate committee advances short-term transport fix    The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Wednesday followed the Obama administration's request and approved an 18-month extension of the multiyear highway and transit spending blueprint that expires on Sept. 30.
   Key members of the House and business interests continued to press for quick action on a comprehensive new measure to overhaul transport programs.
   The measure, drafted in the form of a continuing resolution, simply continues all existing programs and projects at current funding levels, but makes no policy changes. It authorizes $41 billion in 2010 and an additional $20.5 billion in 2011 for surface transportation spending.
   The committee's bill would be merged with a version being crafted by the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee and one from the Finance Committee that will restore $20 billion to the Highway Trust Fund, which is expected to go into the red as early as next month without a supplement for gas tax revenues from the general treasury.

Boxer

   Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., acknowledged the need for long-term reforms to rehabilitate the nation's transportation network and change the way money is raised and allocated, but said the immediate priority is to keep existing programs funded and bail out the trust fund. Congress will use the extra time to ready a comprehensive transportation bill in 2011.
   'As we work our way out of this recession, the last thing we want to do is create uncertainty about our transportation priorities ' I believe this 18-month extension is the responsible thing to do, is the right thing to do, and is the way we can give confidence to all of our states that we are on top of this funding challenge for one of our most important priorities,' she said in a pre-vote statement.
   She said that a clean bill would move quickly to passage, but that amendments for policy changes could be considered on the floor if there is broad agreement on them.
   The interim authorization combined with $30 billion in stimulus funding that remains to be spent represents a 50 percent increase in funding for transportation during the next 18 months over the existing SAFETEA-LU legislation, Boxer said. The money from the Recovery Act was viewed as an additional shot in the arm for a transportation system that has lacked sufficient investment, but many observers worried that it would remove some of the urgency from Congress to take action on a new, expanded surface transportation bill this year.

Oberstar

   On Tuesday, Rep. James Oberstar, who is leading the push for reauthorization in the House as chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, again rejected any short-term extension and said he plans to move ahead with a six-year spending plan. He was seconded by Rep. Peter DeFazio, chairman of the highway and transit subcommittee, and Republican Senator George Voinovich of Ohio.
   Oberstar said that a delay would push the bill into the presidential election cycle and take four years to complete instead of 18 months.
   The lawmakers said a six-year bill is needed to give states and other recipients time to plan their long-term construction projects. Short-term extensions cause uncertainty and disrupt the planning process, resulting in fewer projects, fewer jobs, and less economic growth, they said.

DeFazio

   DeFazio's subcommittee recently completed its review of Oberstar's bill and the full T&I Committee plans to begin editing it soon, following approval of revenue sources by the House Ways and Means Committee.
   Meanwhile, The U.S. Chamber of Commerce brought more than 100 business leaders from 28 states to Capitol Hill Wednesday to persuade lawmakers not to delay investment in the nation's transportation infrastructure. It favors an increase in gas and diesel taxes if the money is reoriented around national priorities, shows direct benefit to users, is not diverted to non-infrastructure projects and is allocated on merit instead of by congressional earmarks. It also urges mechanisms to encourage private investment in the transportation system and the creation of a national infrastructure bank — both of which are supported by Oberstar and the administration as ways of increasing federal transportation money.
   In a letter to lawmakers signed by dozens of companies and trade associations, the chamber said deterioration and inadequate capacity in the transportation system are hampering U.S. competitiveness, safety and the environment, and that a new program would create jobs and economic activity.
   The chamber has also started an advertising campaign and is advising local chambers of commerce to meet with their representatives during the August recess to build grassroots pressure for action on a bill in September.
   Surface transportation programs need reforms 'that result in a more focused, strategic federal investment that cuts wasteful spending, leverages private investment, and requires accountability. In return, Congress should provide increased revenue to provide for national needs. There is no free lunch, no 'creative solutions' that will fill the gaping hole that has emerged at the federal level. Congress either chooses to provide for these needs, or they should accept a significantly scaled back federal program as a consequence,' said Americans for Transportation Mobility, a coalition of business and labor groups that includes the Chamber, in a separate letter to Congress.
   The coalition reluctantly recognized that an extension of SAFETEA-LU may be necessary until the spring of 2010, but warned against a repeat of the SAFETEU-LU authorization process that resulted in a series of extensions over a two-year period. ' Eric Kulisch