“It’s not just a highway bill. It has to be a transportation bill.”

Those were the words of Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (OR, 1) during a transportation roundtable on May 5th that T4America participated in with local members and other partners while House members were back home in their districts

At the roundtable with key local leaders and advocates in Hillsboro, Rep. Bonamici explained her concerns with transportation funding and the need to convince her colleagues to support new revenues to make the Highway Trust Fund whole.

Transportation for America member Washington County was represented by Commissioner Dick Schouten and Land Use and Transportation Director Andrew Singelakis in the meeting at the Willow Creek Campus of Portland Community College on TriMet’s MAX light rail line in Hillsboro. Smart Growth America Local Leaders Council member Mayor Denny Doyle attended, along with transportation leaders from labor, business, and Oregon DOT.

I shared the tally of how many states have passed transportation revenue packages – 7 states this year, and 19 since 2012 — from T4A’s state transportation funding tracker, demonstrating the growing needs for more reliable transportation funding. I also shared our data on the re-election rate for state legislators who support gas tax increases – 98% in their primaries, 90% in general elections, an indication that supporting increased transportation revenue is a good political choice for lawmakers.

Commissioner Schouten spoke about his experiences in Asia and Western Europe, remarking how we are falling behind our international competitors. He called for bold vision and leadership.

Andrew Singelakis talked about Washington County’s role in funding its own projects using the Major Streets Transportation Improvement Program (MSTIP), general fund, transportation development taxes and other programs. Washington County does its part to raise funding locally but is counting on a reliable federal partner to help them complete larger projects they cannot do on their own.

For her part, Representative Bonamici appears to support a lot of T4America’s platform — investment, transportation options, key programs like New Starts, TIGER, and TIFIA, and the importance of the federal government taking a strong role in funding transportation.

Last week’s event was a good step forward in the long march to build a case for federal support for a robust transportation system.

Chris Rall is T4America’s Pacific Northwest Field Organizer