AASHTO Journal, 28 February 2014
During a keynote address Thursday to attendees of the AASHTO Washington Briefing, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chair Bill Shuster (R-PA) said he is working on a transportation measure that will take the positive reforms from the current bill, MAP-21, while also focusing on other areas he believes need additional attention.
Shuster said it is difficult to judge some of the reforms established by MAP-21 due to the short period of time they have been in place, but that the majority are going to prove beneficial.
“The bill has only been in place 18 months or so, and some of those reforms have still not been implemented. Some, I’ve got my concerns about that they’re not going to be implemented or come out the way we intended them to,” Shuster said. “We’ve held a number of hearings on MAP-21 implementation so we’re going to find out what we need to do to strengthen our language, change, and tighten up what we need to. As I go around the country, I think everyone’s in agreement that the reforms are pretty good, pretty solid, and they’re going to help if they’re implemented in the right way.”
Shuster also said his bill will be fiscally responsible—”no deficit spending”—and specifically address attention to freight mobility and safety through technology and innovation, citing his experience trying out driverless vehicles and his excitement with their potential to increase safety on the nation’s roadways.
While pushing a transportation bill through has not been easy, Shuster said he has benefited from going through the process with the water resources bill currently in House-Senate conference (and which Shuster said was closer to floor action, as the two chambers continue to work out the differences between the House and Senate measures).
“I’m really lucky that I had the WRRDA bill first because I learned a tremendous amount on how to put something together,” Shuster said. “I think you start with talking to stakeholders, which we’ve been doing the last couple months… and making sure we’re educating our members. About half the members of the House have been here less than three terms. A lot of our members still don’t have a full understanding of the highway program and how it’s funded and what situation it’s in. It’s now becoming more apparent—they know there are problems in their states.”
As far as funding for transportation, Shuster said he was happy to see the conversation happening.
“I haven’t talked about the funding piece. I’m not ignoring it and it’s a huge challenge for us,” Shuster said, going on to reference Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-WI) and his recently released proposal for transportation funding through tax reform. “I’m taking a close look at it, taking time to fully understand it. I’m encouraged very much by Chairman Camp’s work with this on Ways and Means, of course that’s where the jurisdiction lies [to fund the Highway Trust Fund]. And also the President gave a major speech yesterday so I’m encouraged by some of the things the President said.”
A video of Shuster’s remarks is available on AASHTO’s Transportation TV.