Highway and Transit Program Face Crucial September 30 Deadline

When Congress returns in September, it will only have a few short weeks to deal with reauthorization of the highway and transit programs. Failure to act by September 30 could lead to a shutdown of the Federal-aid highway program and parts of the federal transit program similar to the recent FAA shut down. Not only does spending authorization expire, but also authority for collecting the federal motor fuels tax expires on September 30. Failure to act will result in the federal tax not being collected, further depleting the resources of the Highway Trust Fund and having other major impacts. While there has been some talk that anti-tax groups could try to block the extension of the gas tax, AGC has been meeting with Congressional leadership staff to explain the ramifications of this inaction. Based on these discussions, it appears that most understand that the failure to extend the motor fuels taxes would not save the government any money (it would actually add to the deficit), it would not guarantee any price relief would be felt at the pump, would be chaotic to state transportation programs and would further undermine the economy. However, there is a concern that some members of Congress may not fully understand the impact of allowing the federal motor fuels tax to expire. AGC has prepared a Gas Tax Fact Sheet to assist you in communicating with your elected representatives who may not understand the implications of allowing the motor fuels tax to expire. While both the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee (T&I) and the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW) have released outlines of what will be included in their bills, neither has actually released legislative proposals. EPW Chair Barbara Boxer (D-CA) had hoped her committee would be able to mark up a bill prior to the recess, however that did not happen. The primary reason for the delay is that the bipartisan leadership of the EPW Committee wants to do a two-year bill that will maintain current funding levels. To do this, additional Highway Trust Fund revenue must be found. The EPW Republican leadership wants the funding identified before taking action on the bill. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said this week the Senate needs to work on reauthorization when it returns. Senator Reid said he has spoken with Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-MT), whose committee is responsible for identifying additional revenue sources, and they agree additional sources can be found. You are strongly encouraged to use the August recess as an opportunity to contact both of your Senators and your Representative to urge action on transportation reauthorization. Personal visits are the best way to communicate this message. In addition, visit AGC’s Legislation Action Center to send a letter to your Congressional delegation. For more information, please contact Brian Deery at (703) 937-5319 or deeryb@agc.org.