Rep. Oberstar planning markup on full transportation bill after recess
August 11, 2009By Stephen Lee Davis
At least that’s what the American Planning Association Transportation Planning Division is reporting on their blog. According to their story, Chairman Oberstar of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is planning a full committee mark-up of the Surface Transportation Authorization Act of 2009 as soon as Congress comes back from the August recess.
Appearing at an economic recovery news conference Wednesday in Minnesota, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar said he will hold a full committee mark-up of a $500 billion, six-year federal surface transportation authorization the week of Labor Day, when Congress returns from its summer recess. Oberstar, D-MN, told Minnesota Public Radio that he expects to have the bill on the floor by the third week of September.
Though the Chairman has been promised by leadership that his transportation bill will come to the floor by the third week of September according to the story, the same obstacles to quick passage still remain. The Ways and Means Committee is responsible for determining how to pay for a bill that’s nearly twice as expensive as the last 6-year bill, and to date, they’ve indicated little willingness to think long and hard about transportation revenue while engaged in the health care and climate debates.
As Ken Orski points out, “only 15 of the 41 committee members have gone on record in a letter to committee Chairman Charles Rangel (D-NY) supporting prompt action (i.e. in September) on a revenue package for the bill.” Regardless, we’ll be watching the markup closely come September.
h/t to Twitter user and T4 partner @cwsjd99
What’s the impact of the Highway Trust Fund patch or an extension of the current bill?
July 30, 2009By Lilly Shoup
UPDATED 7/30: The Senate passed the $7 billion patch late this afternoon by a 79-17 vote. All 4 amendments failed, so the identical bill has been approved by both chambers and now heads to President Obama’s desk for signature.
With the House passing a $7 billion patch for the Highway Trust Fund yesterday afternoon to keep it from running out of money before September, we thought it might be useful to post a brief Q&A about the trust fund patch and how the full six-year transportation authorization bill could be affected. The $7 billion patch now moves to the Senate for a vote, probably this afternoon, before reaching President Obama’s desk. The Highway Trust Fund (HTF) provides funds for the federal portion of transportation projects.
If the patch is approved by the Senate, Congress will then be is now facing a much bigger decision before the current transportation bill expires on September 30th: pass a new six-year transportation bill, or pass a short- or long-term extension of SAFETEA-LU, the existing transportation bill.
What is the short-term patch and who supports it?
The short-term patch would repair the trust fund insolvency through a $7 billion cash infusion into the HTF. The funds would be transferred from the General Fund before Congress goes on recess in August and would ensure that states can continue to obligate transportation funds through September 30th, 2009. The patch would address the funding shortfall due to declining gas tax revenues that are no longer sufficient to cover the federal portion of transportation projects.
House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Jim Oberstar supported this option and testified before the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on July 23rd asking for the $3 billion patch. (That patch has since been increased to $7 billion to match the Senate’s preferred amount.)
How does this relate to the upcoming expiration of SAFETEA-LU on September 30th?
With this cash infusion Congress could continue to focus on pushing the authorization of a new 6-year surface transportation bill this September. The original $3 billion figure was based on recent estimates made by DOT but both the White House and DOT officials have expressed concern that $5-7 billion is a more accurate figure needed to keep the HTF solvent through September. (The House passed a $7 billion patch.)
What is the extension and who supports it?
An extension would continue SAFETEA-LU policies and funding guarantees for a specified amount of time to allow Congress and the Administration to continue working on a full 6-year comprehensive bill. A proposed 18-month extension would extend SAFETEA-LU to March 2011. Numerous Senators have stated their preference for an 18-month extension, which is also currently supported by the White House. On July 23rd the Senate Banking Committee became the third Senate committee to approve an 18-month extension bill. Congress is also considering the possibility of a short-term extension of 3, 6, or 12 months in lieu of a longer-term extension.
How would the extension be funded and how does it address the near-term shortfall in HTF funds?
An extension of SAFETEA-LU for any length of time would be paid through gas taxes and a possible General Fund infusion. (More funding from some source would certainly be required, as gas taxes do not cover the current funding levels.)
The Senate Financing Committee Chairman Max Baucus released a funding proposal (S. 1474) on July 21st that would maintain the HTF’s solvency throughout an 18-month extension. This provision will transfer $26.8 billion from the General Fund to transportation ($22 billion to HTF, $4.8 billion to the mass transit account). The fund transfer will begin in time to provide near-term funding (through August) before HTF reaches insolvency.
Any questions? Ask away in the comments and we’ll try to answer.
Oberstar: I will not support an extension of SAFETEA-LU
June 4, 2009By Stephen Lee Davis
Rep. James Obertsar, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, told Congressional Quarterly this week that he will not pass an extension of the federal transportation bill if the new bill is not finished when the current law (SAFETEA-LU) expires on Sept. 30. (From today’s print edition. Not publicly linkable)
Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman James L. Oberstar, D-Minn., said in an interview that he will not sponsor or support an extension of surface transportation programs if a new long-term authorization bill cannot be completed by the Sept. 30 deadline.
Instead, Oberstar said late Tuesday, he would allow the programs to expire, and lawmakers would have to answer to states that lose their federal transportation support. “It all dies,” Oberstar said.
That threat may be hard to sustain, particularly given the importance of infrastructure spending to create jobs during the current economic recession. Democratic leaders in both chambers would have the final say on the matter.
During the last big battle over federal transportation legislation — which started in 2003 and didn’t end until the bill was signed in August of 2005 — 12 different extensions were filed as lawmakers struggled to write and agree on language for our current transportation bill, SAFETEA-LU.
The extensions on the bill allowed Congress to continue funding surface transportation projects, even as policy for the next five years was being hammered out. Needless to say, things would not be looking good for our transportation system if this Congress couldn’t pass a new bill by September 30 and refused to extend the existing legislation
Ultimately, the House will have to wait on the Senate to pass their own version of the transportation bill, where four separate committees have jurisdiction over different parts of the bill, and early indications are that the Senate may push the work back until 2010.
On top of that, Charles Rangel, the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee — which will be in charge of finance on the new transportation bill — has already stated that transportation is not at the top of his committee’s list of issues.
Will Oberstar’s claim bear out? One thing is certain. While House leadership may eventually put pressure on him to pass an extension, the current transportation bill cannot be extended without going through his committee.
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- Transit grants out the federal door, but what about the cuts?
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March 5, 2010 - Opposition to Senate extension results in looming shutdown of federal transportation programs
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February 17, 2010 - Obama’s 2011 budget gives a lift to livability and transportation
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- Transit grants out the federal door, but what about the cuts?
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