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 About Steve Davis

Stephen Lee Davis is the AVP for Transportation Strategy at Smart Growth America.

Bipartisan Senate bill introduced today would give local communities greater access to federal funding

Five Senators from both parties just introduced a bill this afternoon that would give local communities more access to, and control over, a share of the federal transportation dollars that flow to their states.

The Innovation in Surface Transportation Act establishes a modest set-aside for merit-based grants to local communities, to help them realize homegrown visions for economic success and improved quality of life. Grants would be awarded by a panel of representatives from local and state jurisdictions, ensuring that funds go to well-conceived projects with strong local support and potential for high return on investment.

The Senate bill was introduced Thursday by lead sponsors Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS), along with cosponsoring Senators Mark Begich (D-AK), Bob Casey (D-PA), and Thad Cochran (R-MS). This bill is a dramatic, bipartisan statement in the Senate, which now has a companion bill to one introduced in the House in June by Representatives Rodney Davis (R-IL) and Dina Titus (D-NV).

“On behalf of our alliance of local elected, business and civic leaders, I want to thank Senators Booker, Wicker, Begich, Casey and Cochran for their leadership in responding to the needs of local communities and taking a stand for their needs and priorities,” said James Corless, director of Transportation for America.

Transportation for America Chair John Robert Smith, a former mayor himself, said he hears a constant refrain from local elected officials that they have little to no say in how their state’s federal dollars are used.

“The local leaders I’ve talked are held directly accountable for their local transportation needs,” he said. “They’re absolutely willing to compete and be held accountable for results, but they need better access to resources to meet their communities’ needs. This proposal would give them a seat at the table and award the funds in a competitive process, with the state’s cooperation, to help steer investment toward projects with the greatest bang for the buck.  It would take a major step toward restoring funding for local needs to ensure that those who know their communities’ needs best will be making decisions on how transportation dollars should be spent,” said Mayor John Robert Smith.

“As a former mayor, I understand local leaders are often in the best position to make sound, cost-effective investment decisions,” said Senator Cory Booker in today’s joint press release with Senator Roger Wicker. “This proposal will give New Jersey’s 565 municipalities a seat at the table and greater opportunities to fund innovative projects that will create jobs and boost the economy.”

“Local officials in Mississippi are on the front lines of America’s transportation challenges but often lack the resources to pay for critical improvements,” said Senator Wicker. “This measure would enable these local leaders to have a larger role in deciding which projects merit consideration. In doing so, leaders could implement the most targeted and cost-effective solutions to meet unique and urgent infrastructure needs.”

It’s telling to note that this bipartisan group of Senators represents highly urbanized states (New Jersey and Pennsylvania) as well as states with large numbers of rural and smaller towns (Mississippi and Alaska). But small town or big city, these Senators are responding to what they’ve been hearing from their local mayors and county officials. And putting more resources and control in the hands of local communities — usually left at the mercy of the state’s priorities each year — makes a lot of sense.

After all, it’s those same local mayors, county executives, or commissioners who catch the most flak from their constituents when commutes are too painful, when there aren’t good options for getting around, when crumbling infrastructure stalls traffic, when workers can’t connect to their jobs, when streets are unsafe, or when goods get stuck in congestion.

And often, all it takes is a relatively small boost to match the dollars and energy of local communities. The grant program envisioned in the Wicker-Booker bill would be something like the nationwide TIGER program, but offered within each state. With that program, a town like Normal, IL, was able to complete a $49.5 million multimodal station that revived their downtown and catalyzed $220 million in private investment.

Wouldn’t it be great to see that kind of story repeated in towns and cities of all sizes across the country?

This bill represents one of the best opportunities we’ve had in some time to ensure that more transportation dollars get used where they’re needed most; to be spent on the very best projects that local communities need.

Send a message to your Senators, urging them to support this important bill, or thanking them for introducing it today. With just a few days left in this Congress before they leave town for recess, it’s important that we create a lot of support for this bill over the next few weeks.

Budget battles leave a cloud over transportation funding as lame duck session looms

Same story, different year. Once again, we’re nearing the beginning of a new fiscal year on October 1, and Congress has failed to pass a budget to fund the government for the upcoming year. Even if Congress adopts a temporary budget to avert a shutdown —which is looking likely — important transportation programs could be left on hold on until lawmakers pass a full budget.

The House and the Senate never resolved their disagreement over the annual appropriations for transportation for the upcoming fiscal year — one of many budget issues that they couldn’t agree on this year. As in years past, the Senate provided more money for transportation programs in their appropriations bill than did the House. See the last column in the table below:

FY14

USDOT actual
GROW AMERICA Act for FY15 (President's 4-year proposal)HOUSE FY15 THUD Proposal ( & difference vs FY14 actual)SENATE FY15 THUD Proposal (& difference vs FY14 actual)DIFFERENCE between House & Senate FY15 proposals
Federal-Aid Highways$40.26B$48.062B$40.26B$40.3B (+$40M than FY14)+$40M in Senate proposal
Transit Formula Grants$8.6B$13.914B$8.6B$8.6B-
Transit 'New & 'Small Starts'$1.943B$2.5B$1.691B (-$252M than FY14)$2.163B (+$220M than FY14)+$472M in Senate proposal
TIGER$600M$1.25B$100M (-$500M than FY14)$550M -($50M than FY14)+$450M in Senate proposal
Amtrak Operating$340MProposes to roll passenger rail into two new programs that total $4.775 billion*$340M$340M-
Amtrak Capital$1.05Bsame as above$850M (-$200M than FY14)$1.04B (-$10M than FY14)+$190M in Senate proposal
High speed rail$0same as above$0$0-
*Up to $35 million is available for planning activities in the Senate FY15 THUD proposal.
**The FY15 Administration Budget (Grow America Act) consolidates existing rail programs into 2 new programs (Rail Service Improvement Program and Current Passenger Rail Service).

With no progress made toward passing individual appropriations bills, or an “omnibus” that includes them all together in one package, Congress is moving on to temporary measures.

Yesterday, the House introduced a “continuing resolution” to extend government funding through mid-December that, if adopted, is expected to pass the Senate shortly afterward. That would ensure that the government can continue operating at the same funding levels as this past year. But it means that negotiations on a full budget will have to take place during the “lame duck” session, after the November elections but before losing members leave and new members arrive. That, or punt once again again until the new Congress starts in January.

With the elections likely to change the political landscape of Capitol Hill, it’s hard to predict what might happen after November 4th with any certainty.

In any case, as long as the government is operating via a short-term budget, any programs that are discretionary at USDOT (i.e., not funded from the Highway Trust Fund) will likely face great uncertainty. That means the next round of TIGER grants, money for new transit expansion (New and Small Starts), and passenger rail funding might see delays in when they’re awarded — creating even more funding uncertainty for states, metro areas and transit agencies.

At least the Highway Trust Fund is on stable footing until May, right, since Congress managed to scrounge up $10.8 billion through all manner of accounting gimmicks to temporarily delay insolvency?

Well, perhaps.

You might remember that about a year ago, USDOT was predicting that the trust fund would go bankrupt sometime late in 2014. Once we got into 2014, however, the deadline started shifting earlier. September. August. Then the end of July. So, in truth, who knows whether $10.8 billion actually will get us to May? It wouldn’t be too surprising to see a report from USDOT sometime in January or February, much as last time, saying that the trust fund is likely to reach insolvency a little sooner than previously thought.

One way or another, we’ll know more soon. Provided a shutdown is averted, members of Congress are scheduled to leave Washington after next week until the elections.

 

New grant program to support smart development around transit lines is open for business

Webinar info updated below: A program created in the 2012 transportation law to help communities plan for transit-oriented development is open for business — and T4America is ready to help your community win some of that grant funding.

Building structured parking, public amenities and pedestrian-safe streets are part of the public infrastructure needed for successful economic development around transit.

Building structured parking, public amenities and pedestrian-safe streets are part of the public infrastructure needed for successful economic development around transit.

One of the few bright spots in MAP-21, the 2012 update of the federal transportation program, was the creation of a small pilot program of competitive grants for communities trying to support better development within their new transit corridors — one smart way to boost ridership and support local economic development. *Funds can also be used on projects that increase capacity on existing transit lines, but for the most part, these funds will support planning for new transit lines.

It’s a small program, but one that could have a huge impact in the recipient communities. The Federal Transit Administration announced late last week that they’re now accepting applications from transit agencies until November 3, for a total of almost $20 million in available funding (for the two years since MAP-21 passed).

(Speakers updated 9/23) With the FTA open to receive grant applications, T4America has organized an online session to explain the program, how it works, and what kind of applications FTA will be looking for. We’ll have Homer Carlisle, professional staff for the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Development Committee, John Hemplemann, Founding Partner of Cairncross & Hempelmann, as well as experts from Transportation for America to discuss this new program. Find out more information about this webinar taking place on Friday, September 26, and register today right here.

According to the notice from FTA, “the grants will fund comprehensive planning that supports economic development, ridership, multimodal connectivity and accessibility, increased transit access for pedestrian and bicycle traffic, and mixed-use development near transit stations.”

This type of planning has been used successfully in transit corridors such as the Foothill Extension of the Gold Line which connected 11 small cities east of Los Angeles, the West Corridor that connects Denver with the suburban community of Lakewood, and the Green Line which connects Minneapolis to Saint Paul. As shown in these cases, planning for development along the entire corridor – rather than just one station area at a time –can attract private-sector interest as well as stronger community consensus by creating a complete picture of the development opportunities presented by the new transit line.

Rail and rapid bus lines often cross multiple jurisdictions, which can make coordinated planning of development at stations difficult.  As an example, while most would agree some share of housing along such lines should be affordable to low-wage workers, what if none of the cities along the line choose to provide for it as part of new development at their station areas?  What if one of the cities chooses not to allow walkable development at all around their new station, undermining the ridership potential of the entire line?  Coordinated planning involving all of the jurisdictions along a corridor can help to address these issues at the front end, to capture the maximum development potential of the line.

FTA will focus on funding the kind of planning that would not occur without federal support. Grants will fund planning around an entire transit corridor, not just individual station areas, particularly corridors where there are significant challenges to transit-oriented planning, low levels of existing development, or limited local financial capacity.

Transit agencies that are building new transit systems or upgrading existing ones will be eligible to apply for new planning grants, in partnership with local land use agencies and the private sector, to help them efficiently locate jobs and housing near new transit stations, boosting ridership and increasing the amount of money gained back at the farebox.

A dozen states have moved to raise transportation dollars, with more to come: Track them here

With Congress continuing to flail on providing stable funding, many states are finding they can’t wait and are moving on their own. But it’s not always as simple anymore as adding pennies to a per-gallon gas tax, so states are taking some creative approaches. 

You can learn about what 12 states already have done – and the political fall-out from it – with our revamped and refreshed tracker. You’ll also see what’s brewing in still more states.

With the Highway Trust Fund still headed for insolvency due to declining vehicle miles traveled and more fuel-efficient vehicles, states have increasingly been coming up with their own plans for raising additional transportation revenue over the last few years — and 12 states have approved plans to raise additional revenues.

Version 2.0 launching today has plenty of new information on these state plans with some comprehensive details on how votes broke down on successful bills. Perhaps most interestingly, you can see how voters responded to those politicians who supported plans to raise additional transportation revenue.

Want a hint about that one? How about this:

View “How do voters respond to state legislators raising transportation taxes?

As we’ve been chronicling on the blog for the last couple of months, the conventional wisdom has been turned on its head with the recent primaries in these states — members of both parties supporting any sort of tax or fee increase for transportation have been winning their primaries almost across the board. With Massachusetts and New Hampshire primaries taking place Tuesday of this week (as well as Vermont just a few weeks ago), we’ll update the numbers on this page later Wednesday — numbers we don’t expect to change a whole lot.

This updated resource provides detailed information on and bill numbers for the current (or immediately recent) funding plans that were considered as well the 12 successful plans to raise revenue at the state level for transportation.

Click on through to see the full array of information, including tables with the vote results on the bills and results from the primaries for supportive elected representatives.

Did we miss something? Let us know.

TIGER grant winners to be announced this week

News on the winners of the sixth round of TIGER, the popular federal grant program for innovative local transportation projects, is leaking out already, with formal release of the full list expected later this week.

It’s always a poorly-kept secret when the winners of USDOT’s TIGER grants are about to be announced because of the requirement to notify congressional representatives for districts containing a winning project a few days before the full announcement. As a result, news on some of the winners begins to leak out 2-3 days before the list of winners from USDOT is released.

Some that have already surfaced:

We’ll have the full list here as soon as it’s released, and then add new winners to our full map of all six editions of TIGER grants dating back to February 2010. That’s a great way to see the nationwide impact of this important program all at once.

So what are TIGER grants? First, TIGER stands for Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery — a nod to its creation following the economic collapse of 2008-2009. TIGER leverages federal funding and public resources much farther than traditional federal transportation programs. In fact, over the first five rounds, on average, projects attracted more than 3.5 additional non-federal dollars for every TIGER grant dollar.

Almost all of these winning projects over the years have been projects that have a hard time getting funded under the outdated structure of the current federal transportation program.

These projects in communities across the country will create good paying jobs, spur local economic development, and keep our metro and rural areas connected. Winning project applications have to show multiple benefits: 1) that projects improve the condition of existing facilities and systems, 2) contribute to the economic competitiveness of the U.S. over the medium- to long-term, 3) improve the quality of living and working environments for people, 4) improve energy efficiency, reduce dependence on foreign oil, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and benefit the environment, and 5) improve public safety.

To get a good idea of what a successful TIGER story looks like, look no further than the great story of Normal, Illinois’ new downtown (er, well “Uptown” in this case!) multimodal train station, profiled earlier this year in our ongoing series of local successes, and made possible by one of the first TIGER grants.


 

Normal, Illinois

Normal-Round-About-II For Cover

A medium-sized city in central Illinois was one of the first to utilize a new, experimental program of competitive federal transportation grants to help implement a city-backed, city-led plan for revitalizing their downtown with a new transportation and civic centerpiece for the town.

It’s a successful model of exactly the kind of investments the federal transportation program should be supporting, and proof that it’s not always just big projects in big cities leading the way.

Read the full story here

Senate passes plan to postpone transportation insolvency to the end of the year, sends it to House

Late Tuesday evening, the Senate modified and approved a measure transferring about $8 billion from the general fund to keep the Highway Trust Fund solvent until the end of the year. But because two amendments were made, it’ll return to the House for further action before any final deal can be approved on postponing insolvency of the nation’s transportation program. The House will have to act fast: the long August recess is scheduled to begin in just three days.

Conventional wisdom had held that the Senate would adopt the House-passed bill as-is so they could finish up well before recess begins later this week. However, a strong bipartisan group supported amendments to eliminate the most controversial accounting gimmick and cut the length of the patch in half to keep the pressure on to find a long-term fix as soon as possible.

“Today’s votes held some positive signs for the future of our nation’s transportation system,” said James Corless in T4Amercia’s full statement after the vote tonight. “The Senate overwhelmingly rejected a move to dismantle our key infrastructure fund, and instead challenged themselves to take up a long-term funding solution this year.”

Two of the four amendments considered were approved before the final bill was passed. The first, from Senators Wyden and Hatch and approved 71-26, replaced the House revenue sources with the bipartisan ones agreed to by the Senate Finance Committee several weeks ago.

Once this first amendment passed, guaranteeing that the bill would return to the House, it might have made it easier for Senators on the fence to support the second amendment. That second amendment, from Senators Carper, Corker and Boxer, entirely eliminated the controversial “pension smoothing” provisions from the House bill, cutting about $2.9 billion from the patch and keeping up the urgency on finding a long-term funding solution.

The most passionate speech of the day came from Senator Bob Corker on that very topic. Senator Corker, who is also pushing an actual long-term funding plan with Senator Murphy to raise the gas tax — was incredulous at the idea that the Senate and specifically his Republican colleagues would support a plan to take ten years of funds from an accounting maneuver like pension smoothing to pay for ten months of an extension, calling it “generational theft.”

“We’re taking a finance gimmick out of this bill. … It forces us to deal with a long-term solution, which we should have done a long time ago,” he said.

An amendment from Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) to dramatically defund the federal program by cutting the gas tax from 18.4 to 3.7 cents failed overwhelmingly, drawing only 28 votes. Lee argued, correctly, that the existing program is out-moded and fails to give local communities the resources and latitude to meet their needs, but we — and a large majority of the Senate, clearly— strongly disagree that the solution is to take the resources away altogether.

The solution — one that we would hope to see as part of any long-term funding discussion — is forward-looking policy reform that gives local leaders more of a say in how the money gets spent. Local results and accountability are what will win and keep support for the program among the American people.

We are pleased to see so many Senators take a principled stand in support of the highway trust fund and an ongoing federal role in supporting our communities and their economic future. We especially recognize the leadership of Senators Wyden, Hatch, Carper, Corker and Boxer in forging their plan and rallying support. We hope this can spur the conversation to find a long-term solution as soon as possible, and we look forward to working with the leaders in both chambers.

Action will move back to the House tomorrow in these last few days before recess begins, so stay tuned.

Senate, House committees approve short-term rescue of trust fund; long-term solution still needed

The Senate Finance and House Ways and Means committees today each passed similar short-term patches to keep the Highway Trust Fund in the black at least through early 2015. If adopted by the full House and Senate, the move to transfer $10.8 billion to the trust fund will avert immediate disaster, but there’s still heavy work needed to find a long-term funding solution.

Wyden Finance markup

Without this stopgap — if approved — worked out by Chairman Wyden and Chairman Camp and their respective committees, reimbursements to states would have been cut as much as 28 percent starting in just a few weeks, according to the U.S. DOT. But Congress has bought itself only a few months to address the larger problem of long-term solvency.

The House Ways and Means Committee was first to act this morning, marking up their funding patch to keep the trust fund solvent through May 2015 — five months longer than the Senate’s original plan. Senate Finance resumed discussion of its trust fund bail-out this afternoon after making key changes to match the $10.8 billion in the House provision while striking the language specifying an expiration date.

The upshot is that both measures have enough revenue to carry the trust fund into 2015, although Democrats have been pushing to consider a long-term transportation measure before the end of the year. Sen. Tom Carper offered an amendment to reduce the amount of the patch so that it would expire at the end of December, but it was not approved. Overall, the bill passed with just one “no” vote from Senator Carper.

As passed today, the Senate proposal would transfer $9.824 billion in general funds to the Highway Trust Fund, and $1 billion from fund for leaking underground storage tanks. The Senate bill modified some of the many mechanisms of paying this money back from their original proposal, most notably by including the House’s plan for “pension smoothing.”

The real question is how long this revenue cobbled from multiple accounting gimmicks will hold out. May 15 seems optimistic, given how the insolvency point moved sooner and sooner over the course of this year. Last month, the Congressional Budget Office projected we’d need $8 billion just to make it through this year.

Senator Bob Corker (R-TN), who co-introduced a plan to raise the federal gas tax 12 cents over two years, didn’t hide his disappointment in this plan and how Congress is paying for it. “This disgraceful practice of borrowing money to cover a few months of spending and paying for it over a decade is nothing more than generational theft,” he said in this Transport Topics story.

His comments as well as others made today by members of the House and Senate committees could represent a groundswell to find a real long-term funding fix and end the practice of lurching from crisis to crisis. After all, providing funding just for ten months instead of five months doesn’t actually give States the reliability and predictability they need for multi-year contracts and bigger projects — it just ensures that many projects underway or getting started this summer won’t hit the brakes. Think of it this way: States could resurface a road with some confidence, but that multi-year project to replace the deficient old bridge on the same road? Tough to do when you only have funding through May with any certainty.

Even House Transportation Committee Chairman Bill Shuster, who also supports the fix through May, said today, “This bill in no way precludes Congress from continuing to work on addressing a long-term funding solution, and a long-term reauthorization bill remains a top priority for the Transportation Committee.”

“We are pleased that Congress has begun to take the situation seriously and will avoid the economic pain of an insolvent trust fund, at least for the very near term,” said T4America Director James Corless.

“Perhaps the most important outcome is that the debate in both chambers showed a growing discomfort with short-term accounting tricks and a bipartisan desire for a long-term solution. In truth they have only bought themselves a few short months to grapple with an issue they have delayed for years.  We look forward to working with Chairman Wyden, Chairman Camp and other leaders as they make good on their promise to work in earnest on a long-term solution to fund the infrastructure our economy and daily lives depend on.”

“They’re gonna need to see this upstairs.”

“They’re gonna need to see this upstairs.” That’s what staff at the U.S. Department of Transportation told Smart Growth America president Geoff Anderson yesterday when he showed up with 1,500 letters from T4America and Smart Growth America supporters urging USDOT to improve their targets for reducing the number of deaths and serious injuries on our streets and to better hold states accountable for reaching those goals.

USDOT-selfie

Smart Growth America President Geoff Anderson personally delivered the safety rule comments to USDOT.

It’s important that we get this first of 12 “performance measures” right, and that’s why we joined with SGA in asking our supporters to send a letter to USDOT urging them to improve this first one and take a positive step forward into this new system of accountability. More than 1,500 people responded with letters to USDOT that Geoff Anderson delivered DOT Secretary Anthohny Foxx the old fashioned way, via hard copy,

As a refresher, the 2012 federal transportation law, MAP-21, created a first-ever accountability framework for measuring the payoff from the billions given to states and MPOs each year. It was left to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to put flesh on the bones by adopting rules for how to apply those performance measures.

But we were discouraged by DOT’s first attempt at proposing a set of requirements for judging progress on safety on our roads, deeming it “too weak to be effective.”

This rule for the first measure, if finalized as it was proposed, would allow the states that fail to meet the targets they set for themselves to avoid taking action to improve their outcomes. Further, the USDOT decision to require states to meet only two requirements gives short shrift to the idea of accountability. (Much more detail on the shortcomings in this first draft measure can be found in our original post.)

Getting this one right is critical not just for safety, but also in setting the tone for the 11 other performance standards to come.

After going to all the trouble two years ago to create this new system of accountability to ensure that taxpayer dollars are better spent — which helps build the support and confidence needed to raise new revenue, by the way — it makes no sense to do them halfway. They need teeth, they need to result in money better spent, and they need to help build the confidence of the taxpayers who are asked to pay for improving the country’s infrastructure.

It’s imperative that we put our best foot forward and show that this new system of measuring performance is a strong step toward a better, safer, more complete transportation network.

We thank those of you who took the time to send in a letter, and we’re honored to help deliver them.

As SGA said to their supporters this morning, “Rest assured: they’re going to see this upstairs.”

Attempts for bipartisanship slow down Senate Finance plan for short-term trust fund fix

The Senate Finance Committee plan to rescue the nation’s transportation fund through the end of the year took a slight detour today as Chairman Wyden (D-OR) made some key changes and deferred debate on potentially contentious amendments in the name of trying to reach bipartisan agreement.

Between yesterday and today, Chairman Wyden amended his Preserving American’s Transit and Highways (PATH) Act, which would provide a short-term extension of the federal transportation program and come up with the necessary funds (about $9 billion) to the keep the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) solvent through the end of the year. (The HTF is expected to become insolvent before the end of August.)

The amendments came in the form of a Chairman’s mark – a  single package of amendments or legislative language put forth by the Chairman of a committee — which was agreed to by (bipartisan) unanimous consent today in committee, but final consideration was postponed until after the July recess.

“On the Finance Committee, all the Democrats and all the Republicans do not want to slam the brakes on 6,000 road projects, putting thousands of Americans out of work,” said Chairman Wyden this morning. “These modifications move the committee closer to bipartisan agreement.”

But it may yet be difficult to find agreement between the two sides and move a truly bipartisan package out of the committee that staves off insolvency of the trust fund. In the House, Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) has said, “There is no way tax hikes to pay for more spending will fly in the House.”

All along, Republicans especially, but also Democrats, have asserted that it’s important to protect the historic principle of “user pays” for the trust fund — ensuring that the people using the transportation system are the ones paying for its upkeep or expansion. Yet, the most significant change made to the Chairman’s mark today was removing the increase in heavy truck fees — the only “user fee” in the handful of revenue increases included in the PATH Act that was introduced by Chairman Wyden two days ago. The other four methods of raising money are changes to tax code or accounting maneuvers, which were all largely modified as well.

The Republican ranking member Orrin Hatch (R-UT) made it clear that his party understands the urgency to do something, but are still unlikely to support a plan that won’t pass the House. “It’s important for the committee to get something done, but it’s even more important that we get it done right,” he said.

And, “The last thing we want is for state departments of transportation to be left holding the bag in August,” said Sen. Thune (R-SD).

The Senate Finance Committee is planning to resume discussions on this package again after the congressional recess for Independence Day. Amendments that may be considered at that point include plans for a gas tax increase and indexing it to inflation, creating a new multimodal account, ending the federal program as we know it, and an amendment to defund the extremely popular program that helps get money down to the local level for safer streets (TAP).

We’ll continue to track the developments.

Support the Senate’s bipartisan plan to raise the gas tax

A bipartisan pair of Senators says it's time to raise the gas tax. Let the rest of the Senate know if you agree. Take action.

A bipartisan pair of Senators says it’s time to raise the gas tax. Let the rest of the Senate know if you agree.
Take action.

After months of hearing from mayors and business leaders and citizens and people of all stripes who are worried about the looming bankruptcy of our transportation fund, a key Senate committee this week at last is taking up a temporary fix to the trust fund for the next six months. But Congress still must find a long-term solution to save our nation’s transportation fund. 

As we wrote about last week, two courageous senators have introduced a bipartisan – yes, bipartisan – proposal to save the trust fund for the long haul. Senators Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Bob Corker (R-TN) proposed raising the gas tax 12 cents per gallon over two years. It would be the first increase since Bill Clinton was in office and gas cost around a buck a gallon.

Can you send a message to your Senators asking them to throw their support behind this proposal? (Supporters in CT and TN: You can send a message of support to your Senators as well.)

Without new money to save the highway trust fund from insolvency, federal contributions for important transportation projects in your community would stop as soon as August and could shut down completely for the next year.

Some in the Senate are still talking about settling for a temporary bailout, rather than face our crumbling transportation program head-on.

Over the last five years, Congress has scoured the couch cushions to find $50 billion from general revenues to plug holes in the transportation trust fund. Meanwhile, the need for investment is growing as our population grows and infrastructure ages. Not only has inflation eaten away a third of their value, but gas tax receipts also have dropped with gains in fuel efficiency and a decline in the miles driven per person.

Most members of Congress have been afraid even to mention the possibility of tax increases, but as Senator Corker said, “If it’s something worth having, then it’s something worth paying for.” We couldn’t agree more. As our recent post on support for gas tax increases at the state level shows, voters may be more accepting of higher transportation taxes than conventional wisdom suggests.

Senators Murphy and Corker deserve great credit for their leadership and courage to propose a real fix to the transportation funding crisis.

Let’s let the rest of the Senate know that safe roads and bridges, better transit, and speedier commutes are things worth paying for.

In the meantime, T4America will keep fighting for more reforms to the system to ensure that states are held accountable for their spending and that more money flows to the local level where it’s needed most. But without any new revenue, there’s no need for accountability: Projects and plans will sit on the shelf.

What do you think about raising the gas tax? Feel free to let us know in the comments.

Senators unveil bipartisan plan to rescue the federal transportation program by raising the gas tax

Senators Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Bob Corker (R-TN) today announced their bipartisan plan to raise the nation’s gas tax by 12 cents over two years to rescue the nation’s Highway Trust Fund, which is headed for insolvency before the end of the summer.

Senators Murphy and Corker introduce their proposal to raise the gas tax by 12 cents and index it to inflation on Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Senators Murphy and Corker introduce their proposal to raise the gas tax by 12 cents and index it to inflation on Wednesday, June 18, 2014. Photo courtesy of Sen. Murphy’s office.

Unveiled at an event at the U.S. Capitol this morning, The Highway Funding and Tax Reduction Proposal would increase the federal gasoline and diesel taxes by 6 cents in each of the next two years for a total of a 12-cent increase. The taxes would then be indexed to inflation, so that transportation funding keeps in step with construction costs. (The federal gas tax has lost about a third of its purchasing power since it was last raised in1993.)

These two simple changes would provide funding to sustain current spending levels, plus inflation, over the next 10 years. The Murphy-Corker plan proposes to offset some of the increased costs to individuals by permanently extending a handful of tax breaks that benefit ordinary households.

Since 2008, Congress has transferred more than $50 billion in general funds into the Highway Trust Fund to maintain investment levels, and the fund’s spending is currently projected to outpace revenues by over $160 billion in the next decade. Just to have enough money to continue the program for next year would require finding an additional $18 billion before Oct. 1.

But now, for the first time in this Congress, a legitimate, bipartisan plan has been offered to solve the shortfall of the nation’s transportation trust fund. No temporary patches, no swapping funding between programs, no general fund transfer or accounting sleight-of-hand.

“Proposed short-term patches using accounting gimmicks have been all but shot down in both houses,” said T4America Director James Corless in our full statement released this morning. “Senators Murphy and Corker are showing real leadership – as well as concern for their constituents’ jobs and safety – by championing a long-term solution that recognizes the gravity of the situation and addresses it head-on. … The alternative is to allow our transportation system to crumble along with an economy hobbled by crapshoot commutes and clogged freight corridors.”

“By modestly raising the federal gas tax, we can address a crippling economic liability for this country—the inability to finance long-term improvements to our crumbling national infrastructure,” said Senator Murphy in the Senators’ joint statement this morning.

“I know raising the gas tax isn’t an easy choice, but we’re not elected to make easy decisions – we’re elected to make the hard ones. This modest increase will pay dividends in the long run and I encourage my colleagues to get behind this bipartisan proposal,” he said.

Senator Bob Corker, who certainly understands how important transportation investments are down at the local level as the former mayor of Chattanooga, TN, stated emphatically at the event that “if something is important enough to have, it’s important enough to pay for.”

“Congress should be embarrassed that it has played chicken with the Highway Trust Fund and allowed it to become one of the largest budgeting failures in the federal government,” he added in his official statement. “If Americans feel that having modern roads and bridges is important then Congress should have the courage to pay for it.”

As our recent post on support for gas tax increases at the state level shows, voters may be more accepting of higher transportation taxes than conventional wisdom suggests. And any move to stave off crisis and stabilize the federal program for the long term brings cheers from the local officials who represent home-state constituents.

“We certainly support Senator Murphy’s efforts to put our transportation trust fund on a sound footing,” said Lyle Wray, executive director of the Capitol Region (Hartford) Council of Governments in Murphy’s state of Connecticut. “We have seen two bridge closures in just the last two weeks on the Metro-North line, the busiest commuter line in the country. Repairing and replacing bridges is just the start of our communities’ needs. We have been doing all we can to stretch dollars and use debt financing, but we have gone as far as we can go without additional funding. Raising the gas tax is the best solution we see for stable funding for critical infrastructure in the near term.”

And in Franklin, TN, a southern suburb of Nashville, Mayor Ken Moore offered Sen. Corker — a prior mayor of Chattanooga — his support for the proposal.

As mayor of Franklin and chair of the mayors’ caucus of Middle Tennessee, I can say we have been supportive of raising the gas tax because we recognize this is what funds our highways and our transit, and we can’t allow our infrastructure to deteriorate. We have to stabilize the trust fund and provide consistent funding.

Middle Tennessee is the economic generator now for Tennessee, one of the fastest growing regions in terms of creating jobs. While that is a good problem, it creates a burden on our infrastructure. It’s important to make sure we have the certainty of funding so we can continue to support this economic development

As a mayor I can see the handwriting on the wall. Without this we will be tremendously challenged to avoid congestion and gridlock. The number one calls and emails I get are about traffic and congestion. I think voters will support it if they know it will go towards relief and supporting that economic growth.

So there you have it. The first legitimate, bipartisan transportation revenue proposal is on the table. Senators Murphy and Corker deserve great credit for their leadership and courage to propose a real fix to the transportation funding crisis.

We will have more on this proposal as we track its progress closely over the next few weeks and months, so stay tuned.

Senate committee passes transportation appropriations bill; negotiations with House on the horizon

The annual transportation (and housing) appropriations bill adopted Thursday by Senate appropriators contains some good news for transportation. But as in years past, it provides more money than the House’s version, setting the stage for contentious negotiations that could erase gains for key programs — especially competitive grants and new transit construction. Senate appropriators also noted that if the trust fund goes bankrupt, as it is projected to do as soon as next month, there won’t be any money to appropriate.

Senate Appropriations Chairman Patty Murray (D-WA) wasted no time noting that elephant in the room during yesterday’s proceedings.

“To deal with the uncertainty [of the highway trust fund], states are already bracing for a worst case scenario and some states like Arkansas are already putting projects on hold,” she said. (We also noted, the same fact about Arkansas that we called out in our recent report on the impacts of trust fund insolvency.)

“This crisis could hurt workers in the construction industry who depend on jobs repairing our roads and bridges, and if Congress does not act, a shortfall in the highway trust fund will put at risk the funding we have put forth in the THUD bill.”

Because the appropriators in the House and Senate aren’t responsible for finding a revenue solution – that rests with the Senate Finance and House Ways and Means Committees – they have to go ahead and set funding levels for this year expecting the looming crisis does not unfold. The senators showed confidence that their colleagues in the finance committees will, at minimum, find a short-term fix to keep the trust fund solvent.

“Because we had a reasonable allocation, we were able to avoid the painful cuts the House bill would make to housing programs, transit, and Amtrak, as well as TIGER,” said Senator Murray.

Not only does the Senate provide slightly more overall funding for transportation for the next fiscal year (FY15 begins this October), their funding level stands in contrast to the House’s version in a few key areas. (See full funding chart below.)

“Our bill continues to support the TIGER program, an effective initiative that helps to advance transportation infrastructure projects,” said Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), ranking member of the Senate Appropriations transportation subcommittee. The Senate bill which provides $550 million for another round of TIGER discretionary grants, including up to $35 million for TIGER transportation planning activities which Transportation for America and our coalition of elected, chambers of commerce and businesses support.

“I know that a lot of us have seen how the TIGER projects create jobs and support economic growth in our home states and I wish we could have funded it at a higher level,” she added. The TIGER program is wildly popular and scores of Republicans and Democrats alike have written numerous letters to USDOT supporting various applications in their districts.

“Once again, we’re encouraged to see the commitment to provide reliable funding for transportation each year from the appropriators in the Senate, and especially the leadership from Chairwoman Murray to ensure that we continue funding transformative programs like TIGER and new transit construction,” said T4 America Chair John Robert Smith. “Our cities and towns and metro areas are facing huge challenges of connecting people to jobs and vice versa, and ensuring that we fund a range of transportation options and innovative locally-driven projects that will help these places address those challenges head-on.”

Senator Mikulski noted that Senate leadership is “in conversation to bring a clustered appropriations bill to the floor during the week of June 16,” and after that the House and the Senate will attempt to reconcile these two bills. The largest stumbling block may be the that the Senate has $2.4 billion (4.6 percent) more in total discretionary spending than their House counterparts. Time will tell, but we are encouraged by the Senate’s approach and leadership shown by Senators Murray and Collins.

FY14

USDOT actual
GROW AMERICA Act for FY15 (President's 4-year proposal)HOUSE FY15 THUD Proposal ( & difference vs FY14 actual)SENATE FY15 THUD Proposal (& difference vs FY14 actual)DIFFERENCE between House & Senate FY15 proposals
Federal-Aid Highways$40.26B$48.062B$40.26B$40.3B (+$40M than FY14)+$40M in Senate proposal
Transit Formula Grants$8.6B$13.914B$8.6B$8.6B-
Transit 'New & 'Small Starts'$1.943B$2.5B$1.691B (-$252M than FY14)$2.163B (+$220M than FY14)+$472M in Senate proposal
TIGER$600M$1.25B$100M (-$500M than FY14)$550M -($50M than FY14)+$450M in Senate proposal
Amtrak Operating$340MProposes to roll passenger rail into two new programs that total $4.775 billion*$340M$340M-
Amtrak Capital$1.05Bsame as above$850M (-$200M than FY14)$1.04B (-$10M than FY14)+$190M in Senate proposal
High speed rail$0same as above$0$0-

*Up to $35 million is available for planning activities in the Senate FY15 THUD proposal.
**The FY15 Administration Budget (Grow America Act) consolidates existing rail programs into 2 new programs (Rail Service Improvement Program and Current Passenger Rail Service).

New bill would give local communities greater access to federal transportation funds

A bill introduced yesterday would give local communities across the country greater access to federal transportation funds to invest in their homegrown transportation plans and projects — answering one of the most consistent requests we hear from our coalition of local leaders and officials across the country.

Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL)

Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL), speaking at a briefing on Capitol Hill in February, introduced the new Innovation in Surface Transportation Act with Rep. Dina Titus this week.

The Innovation in Surface Transportation Act (HR 4726), introduced yesterday in the House of Representatives by Reps. Rodney Davis (R-IL) and Dina Titus (D-NV), would provide improved decision-making, responsibility and greater access to federal transportation funds for local communities. It would carve out dollars within each state for competitive grants to be awarded to local communities by a diverse selection panel that includes representatives from the state DOT and local jurisdictions.

A constant refrain from the many local elected and business officials we’ve met with over the last few years is that they have little to no access to funds, or, no seats at the decision-making table. This bill would fix exactly that while also spurring innovation, collaboration and efficiency through competition. Awarding funds through a panel of stakeholders and DOT experts will help steer investment toward projects with the greatest bang for the buck.

“Competition spurs innovation that formula funds never ever will,” as T4’s Beth Osborne wrote about this type of competition in the Atlantic Cities a few weeks ago. “Competition generates incredible excitement and a desire to outdo your neighbor. As a result, federal dollars are made to go farther, more non-federal funds are brought in from both public and private sources, and every penny is targeted to accomplish multiple goals.”

We know that the civic leaders in communities across the country are more than willing to compete and be held accountable for the results of their investments, but they currently just don’t get enough access to the funds they need to meet their communities’ needs. This bill would require that some of the money flow down to communities — a great way to make good on Congress’s promise of more local control in MAP-21.

Eligible projects for the in-state grant competition would include all projects currently appropriate for the Surface Transportation Program — such as bridge repair or improvement, highway projects, freight movement, bike and pedestrian safety and transit, to name a few.

This proposal — along with its Senate companion discussed last week by Senators Booker and Wicker — would take a major step toward bringing funds down to the local level to ensure that the people who know the needs of their community best will help decide how transportation dollars should be spent.

We’ll have much more on the details of this program next week, so stay tuned.

Urge your Rep and your Senators to cosponsor this bill today. Send them a message today.

Senate committee passes six-year transportation bill this morning

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW) passed their portion of the transportation reauthorization bill out of committee this morning after a short one-hour session. The amended six-year $243 billion bill does little to improve on the draft version released earlier this week, but several key amendments could strengthen the bill as it moves to the floor of the Senate.

Updated: 5/28 with full summary below. -Ed.  The bill that was approved by the committee today is mostly unchanged from what was released earlier this week, with a few exceptions detailed below. There were a handful of amendments agreed upon in advance that were accepted as a group with no discussion.

As we pointed out in our statement Tuesday, the EPW bill takes positive steps to repair and replace federal-aid bridges not on the National Highway System, extend innovative financing to support local economic development along transit lines and increase the share of the Transportation Alternatives Program under local control, among a few other highlights. But this bill as passed today still has room to grow in providing communities access to resources they need to support our economy and improve opportunities for Americans to prosper.

The most prominent change was offered by Sen. Inhofe (R-OK) which cuts 25 percent ($250 million) from the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) program in order to fund the federal research program that was booted out of the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) in the bill introduced by the EPW Committee and subject it to the annual appropriations process.

After the bill and amendments were approved by a quick voice vote early this morning, members of the committee stayed to offer remarks and discuss possible amendments that deserve debate and will hopefully be included in the bill in the days and weeks to come as it moves through the Senate process.

One proposed bipartisan amendment discussed by Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) would give local communities across the country greater access to federal transportation funds for innovative projects via a new in-state competitive grant program. (Note: This would be the Senate companion of the bill announced in an event yesterday by House Reps. Davis and Titus.)

An amendment from Senator Whitehouse (D-RI) would improve local and regional access to the Projects of National and Regional Significance by lowering the minimum total project cost (currently $350 million) so that the program focuses on project outcomes rather than unnecessarily driving up the cost of projects.

An amendment from Senators Gillibrand (D-NY) and Merkley (D-OR) would make local governments eligible for the new American Transportation Awards program, which is an $125 million annual general appropriations discretionary grant program that focuses on advancing innovative solutions to achieving our national transportation goals. (Currently only states, MPOs and tribes are eligible.)

Today was just step one, as jurisdiction over transportation in the Senate is split between four committees. EPW, Commerce, Banking and Finance — which is responsible for the biggest question mark of all: how to fund a bill that needs billions in new revenues merely to stay at current funding levels.

Reps. Rodney Davis and Dina Titus step up to meet burgeoning demand for more local transportation funding

Photo courtesy of Town of Normal

Yesterday, Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL) announced a new bill to give local communities across the country greater access to federal transportation funds for innovative projects via a new in-state competitive grant program.

Photo courtesy of Town of Normal

Rep. Davis announces his new bill in Normal’s Uptown Station on May 14, 2014, flanked by Mayor Chris Koos and Transportation for America Illinois field organizer Erin Evenhouse. Photo courtesy of Town of Normal.

At a press conference yesterday inside Uptown Station in Normal, Illinois, alongside the Town of Normal Mayor Chris Koos, Rep. Davis introduced the Innovation in Surface Transportation Act.

The bipartisan bill, to be introduced by Reps. Davis (R-IL) and Dina Titus (D-NV) in the House of Representatives next week, would create a new in-state competitive grant program that would allow local entities (cities, towns, etc.) to have greater access to federal transportation funds they can invest in innovative projects to help boost local economies.

The bill would create a statewide program of competitive grants for local communities, overseen by a diverse selection panel that includes the state DOT and local jurisdictions.

“The Innovation in Surface Transportation Act is a commonsense, bipartisan bill to give local entities a stronger voice when it comes to funding local projects,” said Rep. Davis. “Additionally, this bill recognizes our nation’s fiscal realities by giving preference to projects that strengthen the return on investment, encouraging public-private partnerships and increasing transparency so that every federal dollar spent goes a little bit further.”

Transportation for America applauds Reps. Davis and Titus for their leadership in crafting this bill that would make a dramatic difference by giving towns and cities and counties more access to the transportation funds they desperately seek for important local projects.

“As a former mayor who speaks frequently with local leaders around the country, I can say with confidence that they are more than willing to compete and be held accountable for results, but they need access to resources to meet their communities’ needs,” said Mayor John Robert Smith, chair of Transportation for America and former Mayor of Meridian, Mississippi. “This bill would take a major step toward restoring funding for local needs that was greatly restricted in the 2012 transportation bill, MAP-21. Rep. Davis’s and Rep. Titus’s measure will ensure that those closest to the heart-beat of a community will be making decisions on how transportation dollars should be spent, while promoting innovation and efficiency,” said Mayor Smith.

The location of yesterday’s announcement was no coincidence. Normal’s Uptown Station is a terrific example of what can happen when a local community can competitively access federal transportation funds to make an ambitious plan a reality. (Read our longer profile of Normal’s “can-do” story here.) A competitive federal grant was the final piece in the puzzle for Normal to rebuild their downtown multimodal transportation center and rebuild the infrastructure of their city’s core.

The new Children's Museum and roundabout in the center of Uptown Normal, Illinois. Photo courtesy of Scott Shigley

The new Children’s Museum and roundabout in the center of Uptown Normal, Illinois. Photo courtesy of Scott Shigley

Normal Mayor Chris Koos talked about how important it is for local communities like Normal to have the ability to invest in homegrown transportation projects to signal to the private sector that they have a committed partner. “The private sector was clearly not willing to make significant investment in Uptown Normal until it was evident that the public sector was committed to making a big investment of its own,” said Mayor Koos.

The more than $80 million invested by the Town of Normal into Uptown has sparked more than $140 million in private investment. That’s exactly the kind of spark that we hope Rep. Davis’ bill will provide to communities like Normal all across the country.

“An in-state grant program builds on the idea of competitive grants to spur innovation and allow communities of all sizes to build connections that provide better opportunities for local businesses and residents to prosper,” concluded Mayor Koos.

Photo courtesy of Town of Normal

Rep. Rodney Davis (left) and Mayor Chris Koos shake hands at yesterday’s event in Normal, Illinois. Photo courtesy of Town of Normal

Rep. Davis heard this message from local officials like Mayor Koos all over Illinois, and responded by crafting a bill that could help give them exactly what they need to succeed. That’s the kind of leadership we need more of on Capitol Hill.

We will have much more detail on this bill in the days to come, but we want to congratulate Reps. Davis and Titus for leading the way and we hope to help them succeed in their efforts in Congress.

Photo courtesy of Town of Normal

 

Urge your Rep and your Senators to cosponsor this bill today. Send them a message today.

T4America statement in reaction to the Senate bill to reauthorize the federal transportation program

WASHINGTON, D.C. – James Corless, director of Transportation for America, issued this statement in response to the release of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee bill to reauthorize the federal transportation program:

“First, I want to thank Senator Boxer (D-CA) and Senator Vitter (R-LA) for recognizing that our communities desperately need the stable, dependable funding that a multi-year bill would provide.

The draft bill takes several important steps to address gaps or to build on some policies introduced in MAP-21. Specifically, we are pleased that it would provide aid to repair and replace locally owned bridges under the National Highway Performance Program, which were excluded in MAP-21. It also allows financing to support communities in creating economic development along transit lines. And it would increase the share of the small, but popular, Transportation Alternatives Program that is under local control, while creating a modest program to recognize innovative practices.

However, our alliance of local elected, business and civic leaders believes the proposed legislation stops well short of providing communities the access to resources they need to support economic success. Rather than make improvements on the margins, the federal program needs to recognize the importance of our cities, towns and suburbs and move control and accountability closer to the people who pay into the system. Allowing communities to compete for a larger share of the funding would incentivize innovation and reward smart decision-making and efficiency.

We recognize this legislation is a work in progress and that the Committee has taken steps to recognize some of the issues we have laid out. The draft bill should serve as a solid platform for further advancement as it progresses through the legislative process. Again, we appreciate the efforts of Senator Boxer and Senator Vitter to advance a long-term and stable transportation bill that builds on MAP-21, and we are committed to working with them toward that goal.”

Want to learn more about state and local transportation funding?

This afternoon, along with the Center for Transportation Excellence, we’re hosting a half day event to examine state and local transportation funding campaigns at the ballot box and beyond. While many of you who might like to attend won’t be there in the room with us, you can follow the conversation from us and hopefully many of the participants on Twitter.

Measuring Up 2

This afternoon’s event is part of Infrastructure Week 2014 in DC, an event to “focus on the consequences of inaction and the importance of interconnected infrastructure that provides a safe, secure and competitive climate for business operations nationwide.”

Our event focuses specifically on ballot measures or state legislation raising funds for transportation at the local level.

In cities, towns and suburbs across the country, local leaders are responding to new economic challenges with ambitious plans for their transportation networks. Scores of local communities across the country are finding ways to put their own skin in the game first with local funding while hoping for a strong federal partner to make those plans a reality.

Local leaders from Indianapolis, St. Louis, Atlanta, Nashville and Los Angeles among others will be on hand to share how they’ve successfully passed ballot measures or state legislation.  There’s a lot to learn and we’ll be releasing some new materials later this week about the world of ballot measures and state legislation raising money for transportation. For example, did you know that all but 12 states have considered revenue-generating transit or multimodal ballot measures since 2000? And nearly half of those were measures to raise sales taxes?

Follow along this afternoon with the hashtag #MeasuringUp, where we’ll be sharing useful nuggets throughout the afternoon and hopefully participants will be as well. And the broader conversation for Infrastructure Week can be found at #RenewRebuild

And tweet right at us at @t4america and @CFTEnews

Part three: Crucial transportation projects could be halted if Congress fails to rescue transportation funding

Congressional inaction on saving the nation’s transportation fund would have tangible impacts on projects planned for next year and beyond, forcing many long-awaited projects to halt indefinitely as soon as this summer. Illinois’ six-year plan for transportation improvements could be threatened, and one long-awaited enormous project on the border with Iowa could be a casualty.

Our new report we released yesterday chronicles the tangible financial impacts that the expected insolvency of the nation’s transportation trust fund would have on state and local transportation budgets beginning in the upcoming fiscal year. No new projects with a significant federal share will be able to get underway in the new fiscal year, which begins this October, if Congress fails to act.

What would that really mean for projects around the country?

In Illinois, Governor Quinn recently announced a six-year transportation plan to complete dozens of key projects, including the Englewood Flyover freight and passenger rail project, bridge replacements along the Stevenson Expressway, repaving and repair on I-74 in Decatur and reconstruction of Rte. 2 in Rockford. But because the plan anticipates using $6.99 billion in federal funding to match $1.16 billion in state funding and $450 million in local funding, projects may not make it off the drawing board without the certainty of that federal contribution.

Just last week, in the Quad Cities on the border of Iowa and Illinois, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx visited the site of a bridge replacement and accompanying corridor improvement that could face significant delays if new work can’t be started next year.

Quad Cities I-74 Bridge

The I-74 bridges connecting Iowa and Illinois carry nearly half the traffic each day between the cities of this bi-state region where one of five workers crosses the river to go to work. The narrow, obsolete bridges date back to 1935 and were never designed to be part of an interstate highway system. This stretch of road sees more than three times as many crashes as comparable corridors and increased traffic on the bridge has created a critical bottleneck that also affects freight passing through the middle of the country on the national freight network.Replacing the I-74 bridges have been a top priority for regional leaders for the last two decades.

When Illinois and Iowa DOTs released a construction plan for coming years including more than $800 million programmed for the central bridge span, The Quad City Times editorialized that “The Quad-Cities’ biggest public construction project in history seems to suddenly move from planning to action.”

Yet collapsing federal funding would threaten that progress. Illinois’ improvements on adjoining streets have begun and Iowa is scheduled to begin construction next year. Beyond just next year, though, the long-term funding uncertainty created by the insolvent trust fund jeopardizes the progress of the entire corridor project,which will depend on reliable federal contributions.

Sec. Foxx with Bustos and Loebsack at I-74 bridge
Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx tours the existing I-74 bridge site with Representatives Cheri Bustos (IL-17) and Dave Loebsack (IA-2) last week. Photo courtesy of Rep. Loebsack’s office.

We’ve heard many stories like this about the important projects that would come to a stop if Congress fails to rescue the nation’s transportation fund. But Congress must do more than just save the transportation fund. The local leaders we’ve been speaking with have made it clear that if Congress wants support for raising more revenue for transportation, they need to give these folks at the local level more reasons to believe that it will be to their benefit.

Last week we released a policy road map showing how we can resuscitate and reinvigorate the program in exciting ways, so that it better suits the needs of people in the communities where they live. It’s a great place to start.

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States already scaling back planned work for next year in anticipation of funding crisis

Congressional inaction on saving the nation’s transportation fund would have tangible impacts on projects planned for next year and beyond, forcing many long-awaited projects to halt indefinitely as soon as this summer. Numerous states are already beginning to make plans for a year where no federal money is available for new projects by scaling back plans and tentatively canceling projects.

The report we released yesterday makes it clear: Starting this fall, every dollar of gas tax revenues collected will be needed to cover the federal share of projects already promised to states, regions, and transit agencies. That means no new projects with a significant federal share will be able to get underway in the new fiscal year which begins this October.

Some states are doing their due diligence and preparing plans and budgets for next year in light of the possible reality of no new money to invest in transportation projects that require a federal share or matching funds.

Tennessee stops work on new projects 

Because of uncertainty about future federal funding, the Tennessee Department of Transportation has already halted engineering on new projects for next year (and beyond).

TDOT Commissioner John Schroer reports that with a loss of federal dollars, the department would need to pare back its plan to work “exclusively on the maintenance of our existing pavement and bridges rather than new projects.” Limited funding could jeopardize projects that many regional leaders have planned to limit congestion and maintain quality of life as population booms.

Arkansas bears up under bad bridges, needed maintenance

Ten bridge replacement, road repair and highway expansion projects set to go forward this summer have already been pulled by the Arkansas State Highway & Transportation Department because of uncertainty about federal reimbursement. Arkansas has nearly 900 structurally deficient bridges that carry a total of more than 1.5 million vehicles a day.


Those are just two of many stories we’ve heard about the real impact in states and local communities if Congress fails to rescue the nation’s transportation fund. But they need to do more than just save the transportation fund. The local leaders we’ve been speaking with have made it clear that if Congress wants support for raising more revenue for transportation, they need to give these folks at the local level more reasons to believe that it will be to their benefit.

Last week we released a policy road map showing how we can resuscitate and reinvigorate the program in exciting ways, so that it better suits the needs of people in the communities where they live. That’s a great place to start.


We’ve had terrific response already to this new report, but help us spread the word! Links to share are below, and be sure to view the report if you haven’t already.

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