Photo by Oregon Department of Transportation licensed under CC BY 2.0
Threat of a government shutdown is just one of several hot-button issues that Congress is facing and hoping to resolve before the end of the year. But, the elephant in the room – once again – is a languishing long-term bill to reauthorize funding for the federal Highway Trust Fund. The bill, which would provide continued federal funding for both state and local government transportation infrastructure projects, has been stalled repeatedly by constant bickering and partisan maneuvering among lawmakers. That inability to reach common ground on a bill has resulted in a series of short-term patches over numerous years that have left the states in limbo regarding funding for current and future transportation projects.
While a six-year bill seems to be an acceptable solution in both the House and Senate, debate continues over language that would guarantee federal funding for only three of those six years.
Earlier this month, a $339 billion House bill was approved that would provide funding for road, bridge and transit projects nationwide. The Senate previously passed its own version of a bill.
Facing a Nov. 20 deadline for ending federal funding for the Trust Fund, another short-term fix bill was signed on that day that extended the deadline to Dec. 4. Many argued that approving another short-term fix might stymie efforts toward passing a multi-year plan. Others said additional time was needed for conference committees to further settle differences. Passed by both houses, the Nov. 20 extension marked the 36th short-term fix for federal transportation funding for the Highway Trust Fund since 2009.
House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Rep. Bill Shuster of Pennsylvania said the House and Senate were “making good progress” toward finding middle ground that could eventually lead to passage of the transportation bill. “We have our differences with the Senate’s bill, but that’s why we’re here,” he said of the work of a conference committee. “Fortunately, there is plenty of common ground between the two proposals to allow us to reach an agreement that both Houses can willingly support. We’ve already made some very good progress in working through some of our differences.”
The uncertainty of federal funding caused by short-term fixes has left state and local government officials reluctant to go forward with many critical infrastructure projects for fear of not having the necessary federal funds to complete the projects. A multi-year transportation bill will ensure that funding will be available long-term to bring those projects to fruition.
If the House and Senate can resolve their differences and pass a long-term bill, it will be the nation’s first transportation bill passed since 2005 that covers funding for more than two years. That funding will lead to contracting opportunities, public-private partnership opportunities and jobs – all of which will positively affect the local, regional and national economies.