Elections Over
The Road To Reauthorization
Congress Must Start Down The Path To Action
By William F. Lyons Jr., PE, Esq.
With the midterm elections over and control of the Senate decided, it is time for the Congress to start down the path of reauthorizing our major surface transportation programs. The reauthorization legislation is necessary to fund the various federal programs that pay for highway and transit projects across the country, as well as establish the policies that govern how the money will be spent. Congress has not passed a full reauthorization bill since the last bill expired in 2009, electing instead to pass 10 short-term extensions of the last reauthorization. The reason for all of the short term extensions? Congress cannot agree on how to raise funds to pay for the bill, which virtually everyone agrees is necessary.
The nation has traditionally funded its transportation programs through the gasoline tax. However, the gas tax has not been raised since 1993, and its purchasing power has substantially eroded in the ensuing 20-plus years. In addition, automobile fuel efficiency has improved by leaps and bounds, meaning that we are simply buying less gas. As a result, there is not enough money in the highway trust fund for all of the spending demands on the program. Meanwhile, our maintenance backlog gets longer every year, and the Congress has to appropriate general funds to keep the highway trust fund in the black.
Historically, Republicans are against raising gas taxes; their anti-tax agenda is generally a bar to even talking about raising the gas tax. But 2015 might actually be different for two reasons.
First, there is growing national consensus that Congress must act. Recent news reports indicate that key Republicans are talking about raising revenue for transportation programs. Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) has recently expressed a willingness to increase highway user fees, and even joined Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) in proposing a new surface transportation plan – a rare show of bipartisan action these days. In addition, Rep. Tom Petri (R-WI) recently joint Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) in proposing to raise the gas tax. Even Rep. Bill Shuster (R-PA), the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, has expressed a willingness to consider new revenues for transportation, albeit in the form of user fees, not specifically gas taxes.
Businesses On Board
These congressmen join a growing chorus of conservative-minded business groups asking Congress to raise the gas tax to increase transportation funding. Traditional advocacy groups such as the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, the American Road & Transportation Builders Association, the American Automobile Association, the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Associated General Contractors of America have long advocated for more transportation funding. However, they have recently been joined by such organizations as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (as well as the 50 state chambers of commerce), the AFL-CIO and the Alliance for American Manufacturing, who have pointedly asked Congress for increased fuel taxes to generate increased transportation funding. In addition, large U.S. corporations are asking for action on this issue, including Caterpillar, GE and FedEx, saying that declining highway efficiency cuts into profits and decreases competitiveness.
Perhaps the biggest game-changer in the current debate over transportation funding is the trend towards extremely low gas prices. Congress generally has more latitude to act when gas prices are low and the consumer will not readily feel the increase in gas taxes at the pump. The historic lows in gas prices has come at a time of a precipitous drop in prices – allowing for room on the part of Congress to adopt a modest increase in the gas tax without consumers being burdened. In fact, while AAA is predicting gas taxes under $3 per gallon nationally for all of 2015, some states, including Texas and Oklahoma, have already experienced gas prices below $2 per gallon.
Historically low gas prices and a growing consensus among Republicans and business groups provide a rare opportunity for Congress to increase transportation funding through a gas tax or user fee, such as a vehicle miles traveled fee. The time for action is now. Will Congress seize the opportunity and demonstrate the political courage and bipartisan spirit needed to pass a meaningful transportation authorization bill, including new revenue? Only time will tell, but we can all hope so.