Doubts over long-term highway plan grow
Published on 05/06/2011
Congressional committees are preparing to draft a new bill to fund surface transportation, but questions linger over the number of years the bill will span. President Barack Obama's six-year, $556 billion transportation plan has received support from both sides of the aisle, but financial realities may prevent it being realized.
Earlier this month, Sen. Max Baucus, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, warned that falling gas tax revenues may prevent Congress from drafting long-term highway legislation. Instead, Congress may take up a two-year bill.
"At the current rate, under a six-year program, the number of dollars spent per year [would be] reduced," said Baucus at a committee hearing. "If we take the six years at the current funding level, annual funding payments would [go down] approximately from current $42 [billion] down to $28 [billion] - unless we find new revenue. I don't think we want to be in that position where it's only $28 [billion]. That's a huge blow to our country. Which raises the question of a six-year versus a two-year bill. And I raise that because if we can't find revenue for a full six-year bill, might be better to go for a shorter [one] which is fully funded for at least those two years."
Supporters of the two-year surface transportation proposal say that it would also give the economy time to recover, which many see as a necessary precursor to discussing gas tax hikes.
Republican Rep. John Mica, who chairs the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, has not publicly commented on the possibility of a two-year surface transportation bill emerging from Congress. Mica has staunchly supported a robust six-year plan, even telling a group of state transportation department (DOT) heads, "Anyone who talks about anything less than a six-year bill, I'll take you outside and beat the crap out of you."
State DOTs have responded pragmatically to the proposal, saying they would prefer six-year legislation as proposed by the president, but would accept a two-year bill if it meant funding would remain more or less on par with previous years.
Current federal funding for surface transportation is authorized by the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), which was scheduled to expire at the end of September 2009. In March, Congress extended the legislation for the seventh and, according to Mica, final time.
