Long-Term Highway Bill a Hot Topic as Congress Returns to Begin Fall Session

AASHTO Journal, 4 September 2015

With Congress due back in Washington right after Labor Day, many lawmakers got late reminders that their home states need a long-term highway bill that provides certainty and substantial Highway Trust Fund disbursements for years beyond the current Oct. 29 expiration.

The latest push came from governors in the Northeast, a mid-South state and from leading national business and labor groups, all pressing Congress to end the cycles of short-term patches to the trust fund and to invest in infrastructure programs that boost the economy.

The chief executives of seven states who form the Coalition of Northeastern Governors sent an Aug. 31 letter on surface transportation infrastructure needs to the top lawmakers in the two House committees that write transportation program authorizing legislation and find ways to pay for it.

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“We strongly encourage the House and Senate to enact a fully funded, multiyear authorization bill that includes a sustainable revenue stream dedicated to the Highway Trust Fund,” the governors told the chairmen and ranking minority members of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and the Ways and Means Committee.

That bipartisan regional group – representing the governors of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont – sent the same letter to relevant Senate committees.

But the Senate has already passed a six-year authorization bill for highway, transit and rail programs with three years of identified funding, while a House proposal has yet to be unveiled. Leaders of both chambers have said they expect the House to soon act on its version so the two chambers can negotiate a final bill.

That governors’ letter was signed on behalf of all seven by the CONEG chair, Democrat Dannel Malloy of Connecticut, and by Vice Chair Charlie Baker of Massachusetts, a Republican.

“Our states make major investments in the surface transportation networks that link communities, states, regions, and the nation,” they wrote, adding that “the investment in infrastructure drives growth, development, and creation of jobs across multiple economic sectors.”

The governors emphasized that their states, and the nation, need help from Congress on transportation. “A robust, sustained federal commitment to infrastructure investment is essential for economic opportunity and overall quality of life for citizens,” they wrote.

Separately, an array of business and public policy organizations in Kentucky, led by the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, sent a Sept. 2 letter to all members of that state’s congressional delegation pressing for action on the Highway Trust Fund.

The groups noted that federal funds cover 64 percent of Kentucky’s transportation construction program, that the U.S. Senate under Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., had passed its bill and said state lawmakers acted this year to stabilize state highway revenues.

“With the U.S. House heading into the critical home stretch before the current extension for the federal highway and transit funding bill expires on Oct. 29, we urge you to take Kentucky’s significant transportation needs seriously,” the state associations wrote.

“It is now time for the U .S. House to do its part and pass a long-term transportation funding solution,” they added.

Nationally, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce kept pressing the issue with a social media push on its own site and other platforms including Twitter. One of its Twitter postings included the image of a construction worker’s hardhat and gloves under the heading: “Outdated roads pump the brakes on our economy.”

That message also said the nation “will lose 877,000 jobs by 2020 unless Congress invests more in transportation.”

That posting was part of a five-message set of facts the Chamber wanted viewers to see before the big end-of-summer Labor Day holiday that is one of the year’s heavy roadway travel periods.

The Teamsters union launched a “Let’s Get America Working” messaging campaign on Sept. 2 that urges Congress to work across party aisles to invest in infrastructure.

That campaign includes other sectors but includes a strong focuses on transportation systems. “Working on transportation, energy and water projects will put thousands to work in construction jobs across the country,” the Teamsters announcement said.

“It will also improve roads, bridges, ports and other infrastructure, which in turn will help business and improve the U.S. economy.”

As lawmakers return to Washington Sept. 8, the bipartisan push will continue for them to finally enact a multiyear surface transportation bill that gives states, transit agencies and rail systems long-term certainty about funding their infrastructure projects.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, Teamsters President Jim Hoffa and former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, who previously chaired the Republican National Committee, scheduled a joint press conference for Sept. 9 at the National Press Club to highlight infrastructure needs.

They planned to discuss the need to invest in a wide range of areas including energy systems and railroad maintenance, but particularly push for a long-term surface transportation bill.

“It’s clear to every commuting American that this country needs solutions to our overworked infrastructure,” their announcement said.

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