Time Since Congress let SAFETEA-LU expire! The clock is ticking on Congress' failure to act on a multi-year, surface transportation authorization. America's transportation infrastructure is crumbling. Investing in transportation system improvements will create thousands of well-paying jobs, sustain the benefits of the economic stimulus, preserve our competitiveness, and grow the economy. We can't let more time pass. Call your member of Congress and tell them to fix America's transportation infrastructure and create jobs NOW.

As the quality of our country’s roads and highways declines, so does your ability to travel. It’s not just the long cross-country trip on the Interstate that’s in jeopardy; it’s your ability to go where you need to go, when you need to go there.

Quick trips to the grocery store or dry cleaners, and cross-country vacations in the family car are all being threatened by the crumbling of our nation’s roads and bridges. When you need to get medical care for a sick child is not the time you want to be waiting for a bus.

We need to address this issue now! It is critical to maintaining the quality of life we have enjoyed in this country for decades.

We have created this website as a resource for you to learn more about the critical problems posed by our crumbling infrastructure, how it is going to affect your day-to-day life, and what you can do about it.

Highway Reauthorization Background

On September 30, the Safe Accountable Flexible Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), which provides vital investments in surface transportation for our country, expired. Current Highway Trust Fund (HTF) revenue projections will not support existing highway and public transportation investment levels, which could force massive cuts in investment that would eclipse any economic gains or job creation from this year’s economic recovery package.

U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.), the chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, held hearings in 2009 on draft legislation he authored that proposes spending $500 billion over the next six-years on the nation’s surface transportation system ($450 billion on the various different modes of surface transportation and another $50 billion dedicated to high-speed rail.) Hearings also were held in the House Committee on Ways and Means which has jurisdiction on funding, but no funding source for the reauthorization bill was identified.

In order to prevent a shutdown of the program, before adjourning in 2009 Congress passed a two-month extension of the program to Feb. 28, 2010. Congress must pass a multi-year, robust reauthorization as soon as possible to provide the certainty required by states to embark on long-term projects and businesses to make sound capital investment decisions.

Funding

The majority staff of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee determined current HTF revenues will support a six-year surface transportation program of $236 billion, approximately $90 billion below the amount necessary to maintain existing investment levels, resulting in significant investment cuts for the highway and transit programs. An additional $100 billion-plus must be generated to achieve the macro investment goals discussed in the House and Senate for the next reauthorization bill.

While public-private partnerships and other non-traditional financing opportunities can and should play a significant role, their potential cannot be quantified in advance and they do not generate federal revenue. As such, there are fundamentally three choices for the next bill: dramatically cut highway and transit investment; massive deficit spending; or raise new revenues.

Two congressionally-chartered independent commissions and several congressional leaders offered potential solutions to the revenue shortfall. Among the options currently on the table and their respective six-year revenue potential are:

➢ 10 cents/gallon motor fuels user fee increase $111 billion
➢ $5 per barrel tax on oil $195 billion
➢ Index current motor fuels user fee $16.2 billion
➢ New freight user fee $60 billion
➢ Bonding/Infrastructure bank $50 billion
➢ Tolling (not federal revenue) $15 billion
➢ Credit assistance (TIFIA Program) $12 billion
➢ Double Heavy Vehicle Use Tax $6 billion
➢ Eliminate motor fuel tax exemptions $9 billion

The Time to Act is Now

• On September 30, the federal highway, public transportation and safety programs that provide needed investments throughout the country expired.
• It is essential to avoid one short-term extension after another. Such extensions do not provide the needed certainty for states, localities or the companies that build and supply the materials for our roads.
• Amongst the business, labor and construction communities, there is near-unanimity about the problems that the reauthorization should address.
• All the Congressional committees of jurisdiction have held numerous hearings to consider the best path forward and the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee has a draft bill ready to advance for debate.
• What remains is a matter of political will.

Why a Robust Reauthorization is Needed

• To move U.S. infrastructure into the 21st century, bolster economic recovery efforts, and improve all Americans’ way of life, Congress must chart a new course for transportation policy and tackle challenging revenue issues in the process.
• The health of our national infrastructure is putting Americans’ safety at risk, slowing commerce and goods movement from coast to coast, compounding energy and environmental challenges and impairing U.S. competitiveness in the global economy.
• The construction unemployment rate at 19% is significantly higher than the national unemployment rate of 10%.
• A comprehensive highway and public transportation bill would go far in putting Americans back to work and ensuring economic competitiveness for generations.
• Beyond the construction, investment in transportation helps create jobs in the engineering, natural resources, manufacturing and services sectors – these investments are a true multiplier.
• Access to ample, affordable supplies of aggregates, the primary component of transportation infrastructure, must be assured and construction materials research is essential to the development of the most technically advanced, economic and long-lasting pavements.

Revenue and the Highway Trust Fund

• The Highway Trust Fund is once again spending down towards insolvency.
• Without any new revenue solutions, another bailout may be necessary in late spring of 2010.
• The “user fee” system has been in place since 1956 when Congress instituted a gas tax to pay for construction of the Interstate Highway System.
• This system and the Highway Trust Fund have been a stable source of funding for decades and have offered states and localities the predictability and consistency necessary for capital investment.
• Additional revenue will be needed to sustain this system and fuel taxes are currently the simplest, fairest, and most effective way to fund surface transportation infrastructure investment.
• Capital investment requires capital, and there is no alternative for the systemic funding needed at the federal level.

Congress must pass a multi-year program (six-year minimum) with transportation financing essential to government and business planning this year.

A Brief History of the Federal Highway Program

The establishment of post roads is mentioned in the U.S. Constitution, and the federal government has played a significant role in road building since 1916. Historically, the federal program’s basic purpose has been to provide financial assistance to states for construction and repair of our nation’s most important roads. These are the routes that carry the bulk of all personal and commercial traffic — roads that most of us use to get to work, the store, vacation destinations, and medical care.

State and local governments actually own almost all of the 4,000,000 miles of public roads in the United States, including the entire Interstate Highway System. In fact, the federal government owns or controls just four percent (about 117,000 miles) of all roads, primarily in national forests and parks.

Over the life of the federal highway program, funds have been targeted mainly at the construction and repair of those highways that are most vital to interstate commerce and national defense. In 1956, Congress enacted legislation authorizing construction of the Interstate Highway System. Under that law, the federal government agreed to fund 90 percent of the construction costs for the Interstates. States, in turn, would provide the remaining funds, administer the construction projects, and own and operate the completed Interstate highways. To finance this major construction program, the 1956 law also established the Highway Trust Fund. Revenues from a motor fuel tax were deposited in the trust fund and distributed to states to support Interstate construction. In time, other non-Interstate projects became eligible for federal funding, which would generally cover 80 percent of the project’s cost.

Today, revenue for the Highway Trust Fund is still generated by the motorists and truckers who use the system. Since 1993, federal highway taxes include an 18.4 cents-per-gallon tax on gasoline, 24.4 cents-per-gallon on diesel, varying tax rates on other motor fuels, a tax on heavy vehicles, and levies on certain truck equipment and tires. Between 1993 and 2010, inflation will have reduced the amount of highway investments per gallon of fuel tax in half.

Throughout its 52-year history, the Highway Trust Fund has been the financial support for the federal highway program. The highway user fees deposited in the trust fund have proven to be a sound, pay-as-you-go financing mechanism. But with insolvency of the Highway Trust Fund fast approaching, Congress must take action to avoid a crisis.

ISTEA: The first “TEA” Bill Following Interstate Construction
In 1991, Congress passed the first “TEA” bill, known as the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act or “ISTEA” which officially declared that the Interstate System was completed. This bill also significantly restructured the federal highway program and greatly expanded the eligible uses of federal-aid highway funds beyond traditional highway projects. The goal was to provide state and local governments with greater flexibility in selecting projects to meet their transportation needs. ISTEA was the first of three bills developed with similar policies.

TEA-21: Restoring Trust to the Highway Trust Fund
TEA-21 maintained the same basic program structure as ISTEA, but addressed the problem of unpredictable annual appropriations and budget gimmicks that reduced highway spending. Before TEA-21 was enacted, cash balances in the Highway Trust Fund began to soar as federal spending dropped to a level much lower than what highway users were paying in fuel taxes. Though by law trust funds could only be spent on transportation projects, the Highway Trust Fund’s growing cash balance helped mask the true size of the federal deficit. In 1998, the enactment of TEA-21 fixed the budgeting problem and assured steady, increased funding for transportation. Congress created a “budgetary firewall” to ensure that highway user fees were fully spent.

SAFETEA-LU: The Last of the “TEA” Bills
In 2005, enactment of SAFETEA-LU continued the 14-year old program structure created by ISTEA and maintained during TEA-21 with a notable increase in funding for a new strategic safety program. SAFETEA-LU included modest funding increases over TEA-21 by spending down the reserve balance in the Highway Trust Fund. This plan will leave the Highway Trust Fund with a shortfall of revenue in 2009. SAFETEA-LU distributes funding for highways among the following program categories:

• Interstate Maintenance – This program is designed to rehabilitate, restore, resurface and reconstruct the Interstate Highway System. These funds cannot be used to add capacity for single occupant vehicles.
• National Highway System – The 161,000-mile NHS, which Congress officially designated in 1995, includes the 45,000-mile Interstate Highway System and additional routes identified for their special importance to interstate commerce, tourism and national defense. Consisting of only four percent of all U.S. road miles, the NHS carries 40 percent of all highway travel, 75 percent of all truck travel, and 80 percent of all tourist travel, according to the USDOT.
• Bridge Replacement and Rehabilitation – These funds are reserved for replacement and repair of deficient bridges. Some funding is set aside to fund local bridges not typically eligible for federal funding.
• Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) – The only new core highway program in SAFETEA-LU, the HSIP program directs funding to road safety projects with performance tracking and reporting requirements. Funds are used for a variety of safety purposes, including eliminating hazards, funding systemic safety advancements, and improving safety at intersections and railroad crossings.
• Surface Transportation Program (STP) – This program is essentially a block grant to states and is eligible for expenditure on any non-local road, bridge or mass transit project. States are required to set aside a portion of their STP funds for metropolitan areas with populations over 200,000. Ten percent of STP is also reserved for “Transportation Enhancements”, a program that mandates funding for non-road projects such as the preservation of historic sites and the acquisition of land for its scenic or archaeological value.
• Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Program (CMAQ) – These funds are provided to areas that do not meet air quality standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). CMAQ funds cannot be invested in road capacity improvements (except HOV lanes). Although transit has its own program mostly funded by the 2.86 cents of the gas tax deposited in the Mass Transit Account of the Highway Trust Fund, about one-half of the CMAQ dollars are spent on transit with funding from the highway account. CMAQ funds are not dedicated to relieving congestion, but they are used for programs designed to reduce highway demand.
• Federal Lands Highways – SAFETEA-LU dedicates funds for federally maintained road projects on federal lands, national parks, and Native American reservations.
• Equity Bonus – SAFETEA-LU provided a boost of funding to states to ensure that each state’s share of funding for core highway programs would be at least 92 percent of its percentage contribution to the Highway Account of the Highway Trust Fund in 2009. In addition to the core programs described above, SAFETEA-LU authorized funds for individual projects specifically designated by Congress, emergency repairs to roads damaged in natural disasters, trade corridor development, scenic byways, research, and a number of other transportation programs.

Transportation Construction Coalition & Americans for Transportation Mobility
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 31, 2010		Contacts: Jeff Solsby (TCC) 202-289-4434 Brian Turmail (TCC) 703-837-5310 Janet Kavinoky (ATM) 202-463-5871
Transportation & Business Community Coalitions Join Forces to Push for Congressional Action on Overdue Highway & Transit Bill Aug. 31 Event in S.C. with Rep. James Clyburn Highlights Highway Billboard & Ad Campaign (WASHINGTON, D.C.)-"Sick of Aging Roads? Sick of Bus Delays? Sick of Congestion? -Tell Congress to Act!" Those are the messages appearing on highway billboard and print ads in key states, and being delivered by thousands of grassroots activists who are urging Congress to complete work on the long overdue, multi-year highway/transit authorization bill. The Transportation Construction Coalition (TCC) and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce-led Americans for Transportation Mobility (ATM), two national groups advocating for significant new investments in transportation improvements, are working together to elevate infrastructure issues on the congressional legislative calendar this year. The current federal highway/transit investment law, known as SAFETEA-LU, expired nearly a year ago on September 30, 2009. It has been operating under a series of short-term extensions, the latest through December 31, 2010. The federal government is the source of nearly 45 percent of all public capital investments in surface transportation. Campaign advertising appeals to the general public, asking: "Sick of Aging Roads?-Tell Congress to Act!" Similar messages have been developed for traffic congestion, transit delays and unsafe bridges. Billboard advertisements have been running in South Dakota and South Carolina, and will also be posted in Illinois, Michigan, Tennessee, Iowa and Maryland beginning during the congressional recess in August and running through September. As part of the campaign, Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) today held a news conference with coalition partners in Columbia, S.C., to mark the ad campaign's launch in that state. The ads direct viewers to the website www.fasterbettersafer.org, where a comprehensive action kit, instructions for contacting members of Congress, educational videos and other materials about the highway/transit bill are available. The TCC, co-chaired by the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) and the Associated General Contractors (AGC) of America, is comprised of 29 national construction groups and labor unions with a direct market stake in federal transportation programs. The ATM is a nationwide effort by business, labor, transportation organizations and concerned citizens to advocate for increased federal investment in the nation's aging and overburdened transportation system. A respective list of members of each coalition is available at www.transportationconstructioncoalition.org and www.fasterbettersafer.org.

LATEST FROM THE HIGHWAY

2010 TRIP Reports on the the state of the surface transportation system and federal funding in America (April 2010).

TTI: 2009 Annual Urban Mobility Report

The 2009 Urban Mobility Report builds on previous Urban Mobility Reports with an improved methodology and expanded coverage of the nation's urban congestion problem and solutions. The links below provide information on long-term congestion trends, the most recent congestion comparisons and a description of many congestion improvement strategies.

FAQs ABOUT THE HIGHWAY BILL

What is the highway bill?

The highway bill is legislation that funds roads, highways, bridges and transit across the nation. The latest highway bill, the Safe Accountable Flexible Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), expired on Sept. 30, 2009. Our highways have been operating under temporary extensions since then and our nation desperately needs Congress to pass a robust and well-funded, multi-year bill as soon as possible.

 

Why should I care about the highway bill?

You should care because crumbling roads and highways jeopardize the safety of your family. You should care because the nation’s network of roads and highways allows us to get out kids to school, to the soccer game, or our elderly parents to the doctor, or in emergencies we can get to the hospital. The government shouldn’t tell us how to travel. If we want to use our car to run an errand, we should be able to go when and where we want. But, we have to have good roads and our nation’s roads and highways ensure the freedom of mobility that we often take for granted.

 

How do we pay for highways?

The highway program is user financed by motorists and truckers. You pay to use the roads through the gas tax or what more appropriately should be called the “gas user fee”. When Pres. Eisenhower signed the Highway Act in 1956, it established the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) which is funded by the user fee that we all pay at the gas pump. Currently motorists pay 18.4 cents per gallon and truckers pay 24.4 cents per gallon on diesel. These funds are used to build and maintain highways, roads, bridges and some transit. By making this a dedicated funding source, our nation's highway and interstate systems have thrived.

 

How much funding is needed for highways?

Just like everything else, roads and highways wear out over time. Our roads take a daily beating with all the cars, trucks and other equipment that use them. A recent study by the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Committee found that through 2020 all levels of government would need to double the capital investment. Just to maintain current physical conditions and make slight improvements, the capital investment needed would amount to $143 billion annually. To truly improve both conditions AND performance, $225 billion would be needed annually.

 

What can be done about the congestion plaguing our nation’s roads and highways?

All of us are “mad as hell” when we get stuck in traffic – congestion that plagues our urban areas. Public opinion polls consistently show that increased traffic congestion is among the top two or three concerns Americans cite as having a major impact on their daily lives. The Texas Transportation Institute, the nation’s leading authority on congestion issues, estimates that gridlock costs Americans $78 billion a year and wastes 4.2 billion hours, which translates into over one workweek per commuter wasted annually stuck in traffic.

Traffic congestion is a national problem that requires a national solution. We must unclog the traffic bottlenecks by providing new road capacity, converting to Highway Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes; exploring bus rapid transit; making operational improvements or utilizing Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) including metering flow onto freeways, dynamically retiming traffic signals, managing traffic incidents from a centralized video center, and providing travelers with information on alternative routes and modes. Other methods of improving our existing road systems include reversible commuter lanes, movable median barriers that add capacity during peak periods, and restricting turns at certain intersections.

How can we improve highway safety?

There is nothing more important than making our roads and highways as safe as possible. A recent study, On a Crash Course, done by the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, found that deficient road conditions are a factor in more than half of the fatal crashes in the U.S., contributing to more deaths than speeding, drunken driving or failure to use seat belts. Road-related conditions were a factor in 22,000 fatalities and cost $217.5 billion each year the study concluded.

The key to reducing roadway-related fatalities is doing everything possible to keep drivers on a safe road without hazards or dangerous intersections and then protecting them if they do leave the road. Specific fixes might include: rumble strips; intersection improvements or creating turn lanes and improving traffic channelization at dangerous intersections; providing clearer, more reflective roadway information; traffic separation; hazard removal; wider lanes and shoulders.

 

I’m concerned about the environment. Won’t more investment in roads and highways result in more congestion and pollution?

The answer is simple – congestion relief is a win-win for motorists and the environment. An average of 77 percent on-site carbon dioxide emission reductions is possible through congestion relief projects. Beyond highway projects past experience has proven that technology, not behavioral controls, is the most effective way to reduce emissions. Regulation of carbon dioxide emission in climate change legislation, tax incentives for new fuels, vehicle research, and consumer purchases show the greatest promise for success. The Obama Administration has suggested that they want to “get people out of their cars” and have touted high speed rail. Such policies have been tried before and have been unsuccessful because Americans are not willing to give up their cars. The tactics proposed have been costly, disproportionately impact the poor, and require tremendous government control over people’s behaviors and local land use decisions. Congress should reject these ideas and focus on making mobility better for the environment.

 

Can projects proceed more quickly without weakening environmental regulations?

Yes, it is very possible to protect the environment and improve transportation simultaneously. In 2005, Congress authored several streamlining provisions, including pilot programs to allow some states to take greater responsibility in the project review process. President Bush also issued an Executive Order on Environmental Stewardship that enhanced the authority of the Secretary of Transportation to prioritize reviews of projects of national significance. The next highway bill should build on these successes by: expanding the pilot programs to all 50 states; codifying the Executive Order on Environmental Stewardship; and avoiding additional time-consuming planning and project review hurdles.

 

What about transit?

Transit systems have an important role to play in our overall transportation system. However, higher transit use alone will not fix our growing congestion problems. We must promote smart and cost-effective transit decisions in parts of metropolitan areas where it actually makes sense.

 

Can highway projects promote well-planned growth?

Americans are and should remain free to travel where they want and when they want and public policies related to future growth should not limit those choices. Growing communities often enjoy many beneficial by-products of that growth. Growth in suburban areas is usually the result of new businesses and new jobs, producing a larger tax base and a stronger local economy. Growth in communities also provides individuals with more choices for shopping, dining, day care, health care, recreation and entertainment. There is a general feeling of progress driven by newcomers finding homes, schools and jobs to improve their quality of life.

Transportation investment, in particular, should be aimed at improving road safety, reducing congestion and accommodating, rather than stifling, projected growth in travel. With proper planning, new and improved highways can serve as a backbone for well-planned growth. Extreme “smart growth” plans that seek to change the behavior of a community’s resident often attempt to increase urban density and shift highway investment to transit alone. While new urban dwellers may reduce their driving slightly, the additional population and added truck deliveries to serve that population mean more drivers, trucks and cars on the road and more, not less gridlock.

What is the best way for me to share my views with my Congressman or Senator?

Face-to-face meetings always have the most impact but are not always practical. Be sure to contact your Congressman or Senator’s local office to see when he or she might be appearing somewhere near you. They often schedule public meetings in their district or state which allow residents to share their points-of-view on issues being debated in Congress. [You can look up your member’s office HERE.]

Another good way to communicate is to write your Congressman or Senator. You can do this by letter or email. The key to having your message read is to make it personal and describe how their actions on the highway bill affect you, your family and your business. Let them know your feelings about transportation issues and how important you feel it is to drive to work on good roads and have your family travel on roads that are safe and well maintained.

When is Congress in session and when are they on recess?

The 2010 Congressional schedule has recently been released. The House of Representatives and Senate are scheduled to convene on Jan. 19. Please click here for the complete House and Senate schedules.

How do I get in touch with NSSGA’s Office of Government Affairs?

The contact information for NSSGA’s Government Affairs team is below:

Pam Whitted
pwhitted@nssga.org
(t) 703-526-1083

Mike Liptak
mliptak@nssga.org
(t) 703-526-1093

Jamie Finch
jfinch@nssga.org
(t) 703-526-1091

Jim Riley
jriley@nssga.org
(t) 703-526-1084

ROAD RANTS

Road Rants is an opportunity to share the frustrations we encounter every day in trying to get to work on highways that are clogged or avoiding potholes that threaten our safety and wreck our cars. Too little attention has been paid to our nation's roads and highways and we want Congress to act now to invest in our nation's surface transportation system - the platform of our economy and essential to economic growth, increased safety, cleaner air, and preservation of the quality of life Americans enjoy. We will share articles and videos that highlight the problems that all of us are experiencing daily due to our nation's crumbling infrastructure. Let us hear from you what you are seeing and hearing where you live and travel.

Read the latest Road Rants!