Obama Signs Five Year Federal Transportation Bill

      NOW we can celebrate! Last Friday, President Obama signed a $305 billion, five-year transportation bill into law. The 1,300 page Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST) provides reauthorization of the federal surface transportation program (along with passenger rail and several other items). The new law includes additional local funding through the Surface Transportation Program and an increase in Transportation Alternatives Program and Metropolitan Planning funding. 

      You can read all 1,300 pages if you'd like, or here's another option: the National Association of Regional Councils (NARC if you like acronyms) has prepared an analysis of the new law, which you can access here and which will save you a lot of time. You're welcome.

Congress Passes Five-Year Transportation Plan- Finally

Wow, it's like Christmas is coming early this year! We may have a new five-year, $305 billion highway bill very soon.

Both the Senate and the House yesterday approved the bill, which now moves on to President Obama to sign.

The Wall Street Journal says the bill would provide money for roads and rail projects, renew the Export-Import Bank, and even restore a crop-insurance subsidy. Ferry systems also stand to receive funding and auto companies face safety defect fines under the bill.

The majority of funding for the bill will be provided by gas tax revenue. About $207.4 billion would be devoted to highway projects, $48.7 billion to public transit, about $8 billion for Amtrak and almost $1 billion to safety programs.

If signed by Obama, the measure will also establish the first-ever grant program guaranteeing financing for large-scale freight project.

Obama Signs Three Month Federal Highway Funding Bill

On Friday, President Obama signed a three-month stopgap bill preventing federal highway funding from drying up. He took the opportunity at the same time to scold lawmakers for failing to agree on a long-term measure, calling it "funding transportation by the seat of our pants."

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According to The Hill, Obama said he had no choice but to sign the short-term measure to prevent an interruption of money for roads and bridges during the summer construction season.

The $8 billion package Obama signed extends infrastructure spending until Oct. 29. Funding for surface transportation projects was set to expire on Friday. In the meantime, Republican leaders in the House and Senate are arguing how to cover an estimated $16 billion shortfall in transportation funding.

The Senate passed a six-year highway bill on Thursday but House Republicans refused to take up that plan. House members left town Wednesday, forcing the Senate to pass the three-month bill.

Boehner Uses Expletive to Characterize Senate Highway Bill

A piece of WHAT Speaker Boehner??

There are lots of ways to express yourself but Speaker John Boehner didn't waste any words earlier According to Politico, he called it "a piece of %$*!"
this week when describing the six-year highway bill crafted by the U.S. Senate.

He's not the only one being with negative feelings aobut the plan, Senate Republicans have called it lame procrastination that needs to be addressed immediately. They're only hurting themselves though, also according to Politico, because lawmakers will have to deal with issues like this one and several others that have deadlines looming this fall. Authors of the article at the link above, Jake Sherman and Burgess Everett, predict this is going to be the "fall from hell" for Congress as they try to crank out a bunch of high-stakes legislation.Hopefully that makes you feel a little better.

Highway funding expires in November after multiple extensions and the prediction is that it will just be extended again, rather than a new bill approved. We'll monitor the situation and keep reporting on it. 

Congress Ready to Pass Yet Another Short-Term Transportation Bill Extention

Surprise, surprise! Oh wait, no it's not. Streetsblog USA is reporting that  Congress is getting ready to pass the 35th extension to the current federal transportation funding bill. Yes, 35th. The House passed a five month extension initially but the Senate moved forward with a six-year bill. Then the House decided on a three month extension instead for some reason and the Senate caved and agreed to it.

One condition of this agreement is that House leaders swore that they will work on a long-term bill as soon as they return from an August break. In the meantime, seven states have stopped construction projects worth almost $2 billion because of uncertainties at the federal level.

The three month extension expires Oct. 29, so around Oct. 1 we'll start the countdown to another extension.

Here We Go Again

I received the following email from the Federal Transit Administration yesterday. At this point it doesn't look like SRTC would be impacted immediately but some other area agencies could be if we reach the "cash management" levels referenced.

As you know, the most recent Congressional extension of the current surface transportation authorization, Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century, is set to expire in less than 3 weeks on July 31.

As you may recall from the 2-day surface authorization lapse that occurred in March 2010, while revenue will still be deposited in the Highway Trust Fund, if Congress does not act prior to July 31, no new contract authority will be available for capital projects, essential maintenance, or operational support.

As a result, it is likely that some agencies would be forced to reduce vital transit services or cut routes. However, the Federal Transit Administration would continue to have the ability to reimburse grantees for costs obligated prior to the authorization lapsing subject to the availability of funds in the Mass Transit Account. If Congress doesn't take appropriate action the highway account would reach critical levels requiring cash management in this coming August and the Mass Transit account would reach similar critical levels this fall.

As you may know, the Administration's GROW AMERICA proposal and FY 2016 budget would request a call on Congress to enact a 6-year, $478 billion surface transportation reauthorization proposal in an effort to provide long-term stability. Not only does this proposal provide States and local transit agencies with extended funding certainty, it also increases overall transportation investment by 45 percent, providing funding growth and smart policy reforms to strengthen the American economy.


Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can provide additional information or assistance on this matter.

Obama Threatens to Veto Transportation and Housing Bill

President Obama is threatening to veto a $55 billion Republican funding bill for the departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development, According to an article by The Hill. Obama will apparently reject the measure, known as THUD (the best government acronym yet right?), on the grounds that it underfunds transportation and housing programs and includes several policy riders involving travel restrictions between the U.S. and Cuba and truck driver scheduling.

The measure, approved by the House Appropriations Committee in May, provides $55.3 billion in funding the departments of Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development. That's $1.5 billion more than the current 2015 spending level, but $9.7 billion less than President Obama requested.

Democrats have criticized Republicans for attaching a number of nonbudgetary issues to the bill, such as restrictions on the administration’s efforts to begin normalizing the nation’s relations with Cuba. And truck safety groups say Republicans are using the appropriations process to undo a series of trucking regulations they say makes U.S. roads safer, including limits on the length and weight of trucks.

Lawmakers Who Could Make A Big Difference In Transportation This Year

Representative Peter DeFazio-
Transportation superhero in
disguise?

Who is going to be a transportation superhero this year? Every year, there are members of Congress who step up and fight for changes and improvements in transportation legislation. The Hill has some predictions as to who some of those players will be this year with this article, Five New Transportation Players to Watch in 2015.

Transportation Secretary Says He's Disappointed In Transportation Fund Extension

U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx

An email our office received yesterday from the Federal Transit Administration and Anthony Foxx, U.S. Transportation Secretary, says that Foxx is pleased that Congress took action to avoid letting the Highway Trust Fund go broke, but is disappointed that they merely put off the inevitable. 

This is the tenth extension of the surface transportation fund, on top of eighteen short term budget measures, in the last 6 years. The bottom line, Foxx says, is that this extension doesn't provide any sense of security to us in the long term; it's merely a band-aid.

Worse yet according to Foxx is that the extension expires right as the next construction season begins, setting up another crisis next spring. So in the coming months, the U.S. Department of Transportation will again be required to prepare cash management procedures in anticipation of repeating the same Highway Trust Fund insolvency crisis in 2015.

The email goes on to say that Americans deserve a multi-year transportation bill that provides the certainty businesses and communities deserve, creates jobs, and makes policy updates to lay the foundation for lasting economic growth. He says the Senate demonstrated with its bipartisan vote on July 29, that there is no reason Congress can't act on a long-term solution this year and he hopes Congress uses this opportunity productively. Thoughts?

Senate Takes Action On Highway Trust Fund

The U.S. Senate approved a $10.9 billion bill to fund highway projects through May 2015 late last night, just hours before the U.S. Department of Transportation was supposed to start rationing money in the Highway Trust Fund today.

The bill now heads to President Obama to be signed. While his administration said it would have preferred a $302 billion four-year extension of highway funding, it's commonly believed that he will sign it.

The Hill has more information on the bill.

Jon Stewart Takes On "Shabby Roads"

Comedian Jon Stewart recently weighed in on the fight over federal transportation funding in Congress, criticizing lawmakers for opting for a temporary spending patch instead of a long-term extension and for failing to raise the federal gas tax. Stewart even includes a reference to Washington State and not travelling there due to the state of our bridges. This is good stuff.

The Daily Show
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,The Daily Show on Facebook,Daily Show Video Archive

Oregon Pay-By-The-Mile Program Appears to be Working

Well, here we sit, waiting for Congress to do something about the dwindling Highway Trust Fund. Starting in August, the money in the fund starts being rationed and after it runs out- who knows? What we do know is that our transportation infrastructure isn't fixing itself, so some new method of funding maintenance and preservation projects is imperative.

The problem is that the Highway Trust Fund is funded by the gas tax. With people driving less, cars being more efficient on fuel these days and the infrastructure aging and crumbling faster than we can fix it, the tax doesn't supply as much money for repairs and maintenance as is needed.

Every state has been struggling with this for a while now and many are trying experimental funding methods to try to solve the problem at the state-level. While many are looking at raising the gas tax, Oregon has been trying out a mileage-based funding system. And it seems to be working. A new report on the pilot program says revenue from it exceeded expected gas tax earnings by 28 percent.

This CityLab article looks at why the program appears to be working so far, and why it will help change our behavior if it goes country-wide.

Plan In Place For When Highway Trust Fund Runs Out

I've been telling you for a while now that the Highway Trust Fund is dangerously low on funds and on track to run out of money in August. U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx today sent a letter to the head of each state Department of Transportation and transit agencies in the U.S. with the plan for what will happen with transportation funding starting Aug. 1.

Normally, each state is assigned a percentage of federal funds based on an annual federal formula. The states spend that money as they see fit, and send the bill to the feds for reimbursement. That's going to change soon though. Under the new plan, we’ll use the same percentage each state is assigned annually to determine how much they’ll receive of whatever is left in the fund.



So how much less money will that be than what we're currently spending on transportation? And what will be the impact to our transportation infrastructure? Secretary Foxx has some answers on his blog.

68% of Americans Want Increase In Federal Transportation Investment

How often do you hear someone say, "Please tax me more?" You don't. That's why when people say they're willing to pay more for better transportation infrastructure, you know our system is in bad shape. Results from a new AAA study just released yesterday say 52% of respondents said they are willing to pay higher gas taxes per month for better roads and other facilities. 43% of people who took the survey also said they have seen road conditions decline in just the past three years! Ouch, things are crumbling before our eyes! Here are more results from the AAA study.

Pay For Transportation By Cutting Saturday Mail Delivery?

Cancel Saturday mail delivery to pay for transportation?? That was part of a suggestion by House Republican leaders late last week to extend MAP-21, the federal transportation spending act, and fund the quickly-dwindling Highway Trust Fund. 

Don't kiss your Saturday delivery of People magazine goodbye yet though, as Democrats are already disparaging the plan, calling it a "job killer."

More details of the proposal can be found in this memo from John Boehner to House Republican Members

Omnibus Bill Broken Out For Transportation Dollars

Last Friday, the President signed the $1.86 trillion dollar "Omnibus Bill" into law. The Omnibus law is an appropriations package for fiscal year 2014 that establishes discretionary spending at $1.012 trillion and provides $98 billion for defense and disaster relief.  It also includes $53.5 billion in non-discretionary “obligation limitation” funding for the Department of Transportation. This is $164 million below what was designated for 2013 and $4.9 billion below the President had requested. Here's how transportation dollars are broken out in the bill: Highways – Provides almost $41 billion in obligation limitation funding for the Federal Highway program – the same level authorized in the MAP-21 transportation authorization legislation, which expires on September 30, 2014. This is an increase of $557 million from the fiscal year 2013 level. Transit – Contains $2.15 billion for the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), a decrease of $100 million from the fiscal year 2013 level. It also allows $8.6 billion in state and local transit grant funding from the Mass Transit Account (of the Highway Trust Fund), consistent with MAP-21, to help communities build, maintain, and ensure safety of mass transit systems.  The legislation provides a total of $2.1 billion (which includes funding from prior years and $93m in bus rapid transit projects) for Capital Investment Grants (“New Starts”), full funding for state and local “Small Starts,” and funding for all current “Full Funding Grant Agreement” projects. These programs provide competitive grant funding for major transit capital investments, including rapid rail, light rail, bus rapid transit, and commuter rail, planned and operated by local communities. Air – Included in the legislation is $12.4 billion for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), $168 million below the fiscal year 2013 level. This funding will support the full operations of the air traffic control system, including the hiring and training of air traffic controllers and safety inspectors to ensure that facilities are fully staffed to serve the nation’s flying public. The bill preserves funding for FAA’s Next Generation air transportation systems (NextGen) – investments that will help ease future congestion and reduce delays for travelers in U.S. airspace. In addition, $3.35 billion in “obligation limitation” funding is provided for airport construction projects. The bill also rejects the Administration’s proposals for new passenger facility fees. Rail – The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is funded at $1.6 billion, a decrease of $34.6 million below 2013 levels. The bill expands oversight and includes policy reforms for Amtrak to ensure the best use of tax dollars. The bill included $1.390b for Amtrak capital grants and no funding is provided for High Speed Rail. TIGER – Provides $600m for the discretionary capital program.  Passenger and rail freight transportation projects are now eligible and there is a $35m set-aside for planning, preparation, or design of eligible projects.

Bill Proposes to Raise Federal Gas Tax By 15 Cents Per Gallon

A House bill produced yesterday by Rep. Earl Blumenaur (D-Ore.) would raise the federal gas tax by 15 cents per gallon. That would raise the federal tax on gas to 33.4 cents per gallon and on diesel to 42.8 cents. The increased amount of money raised by the tax would go toward maintaining transportation infrastructure. The Washington Post has the details.

Where The Presidential Candidates Stand On Transportation Issues

As expected, there wasn't mention of transportation issues in last week's Presidential debate, so what are the candidate's thoughts on the subject? We know, to a certain degree, where Obama stands as we've seen him in action the past four years. But what about team Romney/Ryan? Transportation Issues Daily has some insight into where the candidates stand.

Fed Transpo Bill Provision Could Come With Price For Pedestrians

One provision of the new federal transportation bill, MAP-21, that many people are just learning is that it will require all major arterial roads to be included in the national highway system. That will nearly double the number of roads that will be part of the highway system.

Big deal or not? Could be, as it could mean pressure on local jurisdictions to comply with national highway standards, like wide lanes and shoulders.

While added cost is definitely a factor, some people are more worried this move will encourage car capacity at the expense of pedestrian safety. StreetsBlog has both sides to this story.

Larry Ehl In Town To Speak On Map-21

Wow, this is like a celebrity sighting for me- the man behind the Transportation Issues Daily website, which I link to extensively on this blog, will be in Spokane tomorrow.


Larry Ehl, an expert on federal transportation policy, will speak tomorrow at the Washington State Good Roads Association annual conference. Ehl will be speaking about the recently enacted federal transportation bill, MAP-21, and looming funding cuts to transportation programs.

Larry has some local insight too, which makes him a valuable commodity. He played a role in helping acquire both TIGER grants received by the NSC project. He helped secure a $35 million grant in 2010 as a WSDOT government relations staffer, and to secure a $10 million grant in 2012 as a member of the Keep Spokane Moving coalition.

Here's info on the conference, in case you're interested, although there is a fee to attend.