AASHTO Journal, 14 March 2014
Several representatives of the U.S. Department of Transportation served as witnesses at a hearing of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Highways and Transit Wednesday, discussing the successes of the surface transportation bill, MAP-21, and highlighting ways to strengthen the measure in the next transportation bill. MAP-21 expires on Sept. 30 of this year.
Subcommittee Chair Tom Petri (R-WI) began the hearing by touting the reforms in MAP-21, including the consolidation of federal programs, greater flexibility for states, and expanded categorical exclusions for projects in existing right-of-way or with limited federal investment, all of which cut red tape and allow for faster project delivery. Petri said he wanted to hear progress on these and other MAP-21 changes, as well as details on President Obama’s recently released FY 2015 budget for USDOT (see related AASHTO Journal story here).
Petri and subcommittee members heard from USDOT Acting Under Secretary for Policy (and former Federal Transit Administrator) Peter Rogoff, Deputy Federal Highway Administrator Greg Nadeau, Deputy FTA Administrator Therese McMillian, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Acting Administrator David Friedman, and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator Anne Ferro.
Nadeau said FHWA was working with states to implement MAP-21, but that Congress needs to enact a follow-up to the bill upon its expiration “to spur further economic growth and allow states to make sound multi-year investments.”
“We need to work together to ensure we continue to improve the operation, safety, accessibility and conditions of our nation’s highway system,” Nadeau said in his written testimony. “The President’s budget not only fills the looming shortfall in the highway account of the Highway Trust Fund for the next four years, it provides for sizeable growth in highway investment — a boost of almost 20 percent to help us address the many critical needs we have across the national highway network.”
McMillian said MAP-21 was a great first step, but that in order to address transit needs across the country, more needs to be done.
“The expiration of MAP-21 offers an important opportunity to recalibrate the way our government evaluates and invests in our federally funded public transportation infrastructure,” McMillian said. “From a transit perspective, while MAP-21 included provisions enabling FTA to focus limited resources on certain strategic investments and policies, the President’s four-year reauthorization plan will provide FTA with the tools necessary to improve the riding experience for millions of Americans, while repairing and modernizing transit systems for generations to come.”
Rogoff focused his remarks on the looming insolvency of the Highway Trust Fund, warning congressional members of what will happen to the economy and transportation projects all across the country, as early as summer, ahead of MAP-21 expiration.
“The highway account of the trust fund is likely to dip below the critical $4 billion funding level as soon as July and the transit account will fall below $1 billion sometime in August,” Rogoff said. “Absent action by Congress to replenish the HTF, USDOT will be required to implement cash management measures to preserve a positive balance in the trust fund and head off insolvency. If the trust fund were to become insolvent, hundreds of thousands of jobs across the nation could be at risk and our ability to address many road, rail and transit needs in every state will be severely impeded.”
Additional information, including all written testimony and a video of the hearing, is available here.