Obama asks for $50 billion from Congress

Down payment on transportation

Jon Boyd, Oct 15, 10.

The Obama Administration is asking the lame-duck Congress for a $50 billion “down payment” on transportation infrastructure, according to reports in the AASHTO Journal and the Journal of Commerce.

This “down payment” would only represent part of a plan for a new six-year transportation bill, says the Journal of Commerce:

The trade group that represents transportation executives for state governments cheered President Obama’s plan to seek $50 billion in new spending for transport infrastructure before the end of this year.

Obama met with some state governors, big city mayors and former U.S. transportation secretaries Oct. 11 to build momentum for a plan he first announced on Labor Day to tie the $50 billion to a new six-year surface transportation program.

Several reports say administration officials also made clear that the president now wants Congress to take up the big upfront spending piece of his plan when lawmakers return for their lame-duck session after the Nov. 2 elections.

“We are pleased that the president wants to press for enactment of a $50 billion down payment on a long-term transportation bill in the lame duck session,” said John Horsley, executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.

The $50 billion, if approved, could start to kick in as transportation construction projects from the 2009 economic stimulus program are winding down. Without some new funding in place soon, state departments of transportation would lose a lot of the federal money they were used to in the past two years. “Unless there is an initiative like the president’s to continue investment in transportation, you will see 300,000 construction related jobs lost by the end of next year,” Horsley said.

Current federal surface programs like road and bridge spending from the Highway Trust Fund are set to expire at the end of this year, so Congress is expected to extend them yet again until it can enact replacement legislation.

Some policy experts say it could take many months for Congress to hammer out a new six-year transportation spending program, especially if the elections shift control of the House of Representatives to Republicans who would want to draw up their own plans. A short-term extension that includes added funding measures could bridge the gap.

President Obama first announced his request for $50 billion in funding for transportation infrastructure during a Labor Day weekend speech in Milwaukee, according to The Hill, yet he was less specific about timing. In the same speech, he also suggested tying these programs to a “National Infrastructure Bank,” echoing language from a bill first drafted in the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee in 2007. The committee’s chair, Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, has already announced his retirement from the Senate, effective at the end of his current term in January 2011. However, the committee is resuming its work on the National Infrastructure Bank, according to a statement by Senator Dodd last month:

A National Infrastructure Bank will build on our nation’s legacy of bold, innovative investments in public infrastructure. It would complement our current infrastructure financing programs in a manner that delivers taxpayers the best bang for their buck.

First, an infrastructure bank would create a competitive, merit-based process to distribute money. Projects would be subject to cost-benefit analysis to determine their national and regional economic impact.
Second, a well-designed National Infrastructure Bank would leverage state, local, and private funds to support these investments. With the current system of formula grants, states often simply substitute federal funding for state funding. The Infrastructure Bank’s competitive selection process can reward those projects that best leverage new public or private funding to expand the pie, not just rearrange the slices.
Lastly, it would allow us to shift our focus from the near-term to the long-term. This will provide opportunities to fund large projects of national and regional significance, projects that require vision and patience. Investments like these will fuel our economy and create jobs over the long-term.
With my former colleague Senator Chuck Hagel, I originally proposed legislation that would have established such a bank on August 1st, 2007. Our announcement received little notice or fanfare—until a few hours later when the tragic I-35 bridge collapse happened in Minnesota. I’d like to applaud President Obama—who cosponsored my 2007 legislation—for his continued support of this important idea.
This is our opportunity to embrace the legacy of big-picture thinking that led to investments on the scale of the Interstate Highway System. By establishing a National Infrastructure Bank, we’re affirming our commitment to building a prosperous 21st century economy.

Senator Barbara Boxer’s committee is promoting accelerated transportation funding through an expansion and modification of the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA), as previously reported in Houston Tomorrow.

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