The Fleet Business Authority
Issue link: http://heavydutytrucking.epubxp.com/i/307131
a As pressure mounts on Congress to overcome political gridlock and fund a multi-year transportation program, legislators are working out the policy content of the next highway bill. Capitol Hill is getting a code red signal from highway users and planners: The Highway Trust Fund is on the brink of insolvency, and if it's not replenished, infrastructure projects around the country will grind to a halt. In fact, some states already have begun to slow down. Funding uncertainty has forced the Rhode Island Department of Trans- portation to stop advertising new highway projects, director Michael Lewis told the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Unless Congress acts soon, Rhode Island will start losing jobs and businesses will be in jeopardy, he said. Vermont is delaying projects and soon the delays will become cancellations, said Sue Minter, deputy secretary of the Agency of Transportation. The current highway program, MAP-21, expires at the end of September – but the Obama administration reports that the Highway Trust Fund will run dry before then, perhaps in late August. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx was on the road in April, touring infrastructure projects in eight states with the message that Congress needs to act. "Transportation is not a partisan issue. You show me a Democratic or Republican pothole," Foxx said at a stop in Birmingham, Ala. "The President has a proposal that…would increase investments in our highway system, our roads, decaying bridges and increase investment in our freight network so that we can connect America to jobs of the 21st century and restore manufacturing jobs in this country." Plans on the table Obama's proposal is for a big, one-time investment in infrastructure derived from lowering the corporate tax rate, eliminating loopholes and creating incentives to bring taxable business revenues back from overseas. Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., also has a tax reform pro- posal that could produce highway money, but the political difficulty of enacting such complex reforms before the end of summer is practically insurmountable. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., chair of the Senate Environ- ment and Public Works Committee, said Congress might be able to come to terms on these proposals, but not before the November mid-term election. That means Congress may have to go with the stopgap measure of tap- ping the general treasury for money to keep the fund whole this fall. Meanwhile, Boxer and several of her colleagues on the EPW Com- mittee announced progress on policy provisions of the next highway bill. EPW is responsible for the main policy content of the bill, but funding is the jurisdiction of the Finance Committee, while the Commerce Committee handles safety and the Banking Committee handles transit. Joining Boxer in the bipartisan announcement were Sens. David Vitter, R-La., the ranking member of the committee, Thomas Carper, D-Del., and John Barrasso, R-Wyo. Boxer spelled out the principles included in the deal. 10 HDT • MAY 2014 www.truckinginfo.com Pressure builds on Highway Trust Fund "Transportation is not a partisan issue. You show me a Democratic or Republican pothole." – Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx WASHINGTON Oliver B. Patton • Washington Editor report Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx recently made a stop in Birmingham, Ala., on his recent transportation infrastructure bus tour. PHOTO BY EVAN LOCKRIDGE w a s h i n g t o n r e p o r t _ m a y . i n d d 1 0 washington report_may.indd 10 4 / 3 0 / 1 4 1 1 : 1 0 A M 4/30/14 11:10 AM