Bipartisan Pair of Senators Calls for $35 Billion Transportation Infusion

Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri, proposed Tuesday a bipartisan jobs bill that would include $35 billion in transportation infrastructure funding. The measure is one of several introduced as Congress scrambles to wrap up this year’s session next week.If Congress does nothing, a 2% Social Security tax cut for employees will expire at year’s end. President Barack Obama has called for Congress to extend the tax break another year and increase it to 3.1%. The Senate has taken several votes this month on different versions of a job-creation bill that would include the tax relief, but none has been able to garner the bipartisan support necessary to achieve the 60-vote super majority needed to proceed to a full debate.The Collins/McCaskill jobs bill would provide an additional $25 billion in funding for highway and bridge core formula programs. This additional funding would supplement the $39.144 billion highway/bridge obligation limit established for the current fiscal year.

Also included in their proposal is a one-time $10 billion appropriation to capitalize the U.S. Department of Transportation’s TIFIA program that helps states provide loans, loan guarantees, and other forms of non-grant assistance that leverage private dollars. States would be required to use these funds for state infrastructure banks.

“Americans are frustrated that Washington hasn’t been able to set aside partisan bickering long enough to agree on a realistic path forward to spur job creation and boost our economy,” Collins said in a statement. “I have been saying for many months that we need to work to reach a consensus on a plan that will help employers create and preserve jobs. Ours is a bipartisan plan that would do just that.”

In addition to investing in the nation’s critical transportation infrastructure, the Collins/McCaskill bill aims to create other jobs by cutting taxes for businesses. Their measure would be fully paid for with a 2% surtax on millionaires who do not own small businesses and an end to tax breaks for big oil companies.

“There are a lot of folks who think bipartisan compromise in Congress isn’t possible anymore, but I’m not willing to accept that,” McCaskill said in a statement. “Here is a prime example of what can be accomplished when Congress stops playing politics, and starts working together — a viable plan to put more Americans back to work, rebuild our crumbling infrastructure, and cut taxes for working Americans.”

Obama called for $60 billion in infrastructure funding as part of a job-creation package he submitted to Congress in September. That measure stalled in the Senate after receiving 51 votes in early November, nine shy of the 60 required to proceed. (see Nov. 4 AASHTO Journal story)

A three-page fact sheet regarding the Collins/McCaskill bill is available at bit.ly/MCFS120611 and a CNN interview with Collins and McCaskill regarding their legislation is available at bit.ly/CNN120711.