Surface Transportation Reauthorization Update

Last week, AGC and other transportation stakeholders participated in a conference call with Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif), who provided an update on the next extension of the current highway authorization and the steps towards reauthorization. Senator Boxer laid out a two-week schedule for the return of the Senate from its August recess.  The first priority is the extension of the current authorization, which expires September 30.  Senator Boxer said an extension would be marked up in the EPW Committee on September 8.  The extension is expected to be four months long and will not include any changes to current policy or funding levels.  Senator Boxer said she intends to mark-up the bipartisan two-year highway reauthorization- which she and Ranking Member Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) have drafted - on September 15^th.    There are potential roadblocks to both the extension and reauthorization.  First, there may be senators who object to a “clean” extension of the current authorization.  This problem increases in the House where the “clean” extension would be subject to a point of order on the House floor because it cannot sustain current funding levels without future tax increases and would thus violate the House-passed fiscal 2012 budget resolution.  Because the extension would require tax increases, such as an extension of the gas tax, it must originate in the House, setting up a potential scenario where the House and Senate could have different funding levels for their respective extension.  This is a concern because the House and Senate will only have a few weeks to extend the program before its September 30 deadline, in order to prevent the programs from shutting down and to prevent most of the federal gasoline, diesel fuel, and truck taxes from expiring after that date.   In terms of reauthorization, Senator Boxer indicated that there is still no final agreement with the Finance Committee on the additional $12 billion in revenues needed for the Highway Trust Fund in order to ensure that highway programs do not run out of cash before the end of the two-year bill.  Although an agreement with the Finance Committee is not necessary for Boxer to mark up her bill, the legislation can’t move to the Senate floor before the Finance Committee approves the revenue title.  The House has not yet indicated when they plan to move their multi-year surface transportation bill. AGC continues to work with bipartisan members of the Senate Finance and EPW Committees in moving the reauthorization bill and securing the $12 billion necessary to fund the bill. It is imperative that you reach out to your members of Congress and stress with them the need to extend the program and gas tax at current levels while they expeditiously pass a multiyear surface transportation bill.  Visit our Legislative Action Center to send a letter to your members of Congress. For more information, please contact Sean O’Neill at (202) 547-8892 or oneills@agc.org.