LaHood promises comprehensive transportation bill; Administration opposes gas tax increase; Thune decries slow going

03/05/2010

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said this week that the administration wants to move forward with a “comprehensive, robust transportation bill,” but opposes increasing the gas tax while unemployment remains at around 10 percent.

Meanwhile, Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., a member of the Senate Transportation Committee, bemoaned the slow progress and said the Senate should embark on a long term surface transportation bill. He expressed doubts it would be done this year.

“I know it’s easy for people who are not elected to talk about raise the gas tax, because those people don’t have to face the voters,” LaHood told members of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. He urged Congress to find a bipartisan agreement on funding a new bill.

LaHood told reporters that the administration will present its principles for a new six-year surface transportation bill within 90 days. He praised a comprehensive transportation bill presented last July by Rep. James L. Oberstar, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

“We like a lot of things that are in Jim Oberstar’s bill,” LaHood said. But he said the $450 billion price tag was too high right now. “That kind of money doesn’t currently exist.”

Oberstar was not shy in criticizing the administration last fall when it signaled it wanted to hold off on the comprehensive transportation bill as part of an economic stimulous package.

LaHood noted that the 2011 DOT budget includes an infrastructure fund to finance national transportation projects. Not everyone in Congress likes the idea, but the budget proposal gives lawmakers the opportunity to debate its merits, he said.

At a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on the 2011 Department of Transportation budget, Deputy Transportation Secretary John Porcari said the administration plans to stick to its timetable to present legislation in 2011.

“I was so hoping that wouldn’t be the case,” Thune told Porcari. “There’s a lot of uncertainty out there with the state DOTs about what the funding levels are going to be. I would like to see us get to work on a highway bill this year.”

Earlier this week, Senate Environment and Public Works Chairman Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., said that her committee’s portion – highways – will be done this year. However, Thune said, “There doesn’t seem to be much appetite among the leadership or with the White House to move quickly.”

Congress’ reluctance to confront the problems of financing a new six-year program is one of the major roadblocks, Thune said.

“That may be one of the reasons the can keeps getting kicked down the road. Nobody wants to deal with the issue of shortfalls in the trust fund and revenues and everything else,” Thune said. “But we have infrastructure needs out there that aren’t going away. We need to be moving forward.”


Source: Journal of Commerce Online, March 4-5, 2010