Innovation Briefs, 23 April 2012
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As Rep. DeFazio observed, getting to know the finer details of the Senate highway bill (MAP-21, S. 1813) has taken on new significance now that a House-Senate conference negotiation on the reauthorization measure has become a reality. Understanding the Senate bill is important because the Senate measure is likely to become the basis of any final bill. The House bill (H.R. 4348) is little more than a 90-day extension of the current program (through September 2012) with the Keystone XL pipeline amendment attached to it. It is silent on nearly everything addressed by the Senate bill. And, equally, it is silent on nearly every issue germane to the transportation reauthorization.
It is in this spirit that we provide below a detailed analysis of one aspect of the Senate highway bill —its finance and revenue provisions. We owe this analysis to Gary Hoitsma, editor of the Washington Letter on Transportation (published by the Carmen Group, www.washingtonletter.com ), who alone among the Washington reporters had the initiative and curiosity to go behind the rhetoric of “bipartisanship” and document the convoluted financing, bordering on gimmickry, of the Senate bill.
But other aspects of the bill also deserve a critical scrutiny— some are changes that were inserted into the bill late in the process and adopted by unanimous consent without debate; others are provisions that are not even remotely germane to the core purpose of the bill; still others are provisions that many stakeholders object to because they discourage states to partner with the private sector (the so-called Sen. Bingaman amendment)
The non-transportation provisions include the creation of a new National Endowment for the Oceans, Coasts and Great Lakes to be housed in the Department of Commerce (Sec. 1603(4) of MAP-21), and a seven-year reauthorization for the Land and Water Conservation Fund which is a National Park Service program within the U.S. Department of the Interior (Sec. 1701 of MAP-21). Indeed, the Senate bill includes over $6.8 billion in new non-Highway Trust Fund spending that has nothing to do with the core purpose of the bill (see below).
The Senate measure also includes changes that were quietly slipped into the bill and were approved on the Senate floor by unanimous consent without debate on March 13, one day before the final passage of the bill. They include, notably, a provision transferring $5 billion in general funds (“out of money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated…”) without offering any immediate offset (Sec. 40313 of MAP-21; for other transfers see Sec. 40301-03, 40306); and an amendment affecting the treatment of transportation “enhancements” (Sec. 1113 of MAP-21).
The latter amendment shifts the flexibility to decide how to spend the enhancements set-aside money from the state DOTs to local government agencies, thus substantially modifying an earlier agreement reached by the leaders of the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee. As the Committee’s chairman, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and its ranking member Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) agreed at the November markup of the bill, it was only a compromise on that contentious issue that allowed the parties to move forward on the entire bill.
All in all, the final Senate bill includes some quite significant changes from what was agreed to at the mark up a month earlier. As Hoitsma observed, “It is doubtful that many senators or other outside observers were fully aware of these changes or their significance.”
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Updated Summary of “Pay-For” Provisions (S. 1813)
Editor’s Note: From our continuing analysis of Senate committee documents and other sources, here below is an updated summary of the finance and revenue provisions contained in the Senate’s MAP-21 surface transportation bill. It is important to note that this is not an official government document, but a still incomplete analysis of information from a variety sources, compiled largely without Senate committee staff cooperation. It is likely to contain some inaccuracies, yet still provides a much clearer general picture of the relevant financing arrangements than anything that has so far been released from official sources. Future updates can be expected as more information becomes available.
S. 1813
Summary of Finance and Revenue Provisions
(Other than Extensions of Taxes and Trust Funds)
(In billions)
SPENDING
Transfers into the HTF
10Yrs 2Yrs
A 4.970 4.460 New Appropriations from the General Fund (3 Yrs)
B 4.520 1.595 Tariffs on Imported Vehicles (5 Yrs)
C* 3.000 3.000 LUST Trust Fund Balance Transfer (Immediate) (Leaking Underground Storage Tank)
D 0.697 0.131 Gas Guzzler Taxes (10 Yrs.)
E* 0.685 0.093 1/3 Portion of LUST Gas Tax (0.1 cent per gallon) (10 Yrs)
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13.872 9.279 Total Transfers into the HTF
New Non-HTF Spending
10Yrs 2Yrs
F+ -3.627 ? RESTORE Act
G+ -1.022 ? Deficit Reduction and Other Priorities
H -0.761 -0.038 Financial Institutions Tax Rules Changes
I+ -0.376 ? Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) Program – One-Year Extension
J+ -0.346 ? Secure Rural Schools (SRS) Program – One Year Extension
K -0.305 -0.005 Bond Exemption for Sewage/Water Supply Facilities
L -0.215 -0.034 Tax-Exempt Bond Rules Change for the AMT
M -0.103 -0.103 Transit Commuter Benefits (Plus .036 OASDI Transfer)
N -0.109 -0.027 Transfers to OASDI Trust Fund
O -0.000 -0.000 TRIP Bonds
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-6.864 ? Total New Non-HTF Spending
OFFSETS (Revenue Increases)
Revenue-Increase Offsets for Transfers into the HTF
Offsets# 10yrs 2yrs
(A, B) 9.467 2.872 Pension Funding Stabilization (Minus .073 OASDI Transfer)
(D) 0.743 0.069 Passport Tax Rules Changes
0.244 0.012 Corporate Securities Tax Changes
0.025 0.002 Thrift Savings Accounts Tax Rules Changes
-0.073 0.114 Transfer to OASDI Trust Fund
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10.406 3.069 Total Revenue-Increase Offsets for Transfers into the HTF
Revenue-Increase Offsets for New Non-HTF Spending
Offsets# 10Yrs 2Yrs
(F) 3.627 0.000 Delay Implementation of Worldwide Interest Allocation Rules
(G) 1.022 0.195 Tax Enforcement Measures Against Foreign Entities
(L, M) 0.841 0.109 Medicare Provider Tax Rules Changes
(I, J) 0.459 0.009 Federal “Phased Retirement” Allowance
(K) 0.363 0.000 Pension Changes Affecting Health/Life Insurance Benefits
(I, J) 0.244 -0.020 Insurance Policy Owners Tax Rules Changes
(I, J) 0.099 0.018 Cigarette Machine Tax Rules Changes
(I, J)+ 0.080 ? Three Other Tax and Insurance Related Offsets
0.000 0.000 Depreciation Rules Changes for Highway Leased Property
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6.735 0.391(?) Total Revenue-Increase Offsets for New Non-HTF Spending
Source for Spending/Revenue Estimates: Joint Committee on Taxation JCX-26-12
+Estimate of spending or offset is based on other documents or research
#Offsets that most likely correspond to these ( ) particular transfers and spending items
*No offsets required