The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee this week reported out several bills that address federal highway safety and research policy which will be part of the committees overall contribution to the surface transportation reauthorization bill.
The bills were mostly bipartisan and non-controversial, except for the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Enhancement Act which included language inserted by Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) that would create a new federal policy for surface transportation and a multi-modal freight program. AGC has several concerns with the Lautenberg language, especially that it does not identify a funding source or amount. AGC wants to be sure that the multi-modal aspect of the proposal not be paid for out of the Highway Trust Fund. AGC will continue to monitor the developments in the Commerce Committee and work to ensure no money is diverted from the Highway Trust Fund to provide funding for transportation modes that do not contribute to the Highway Trust Fund.
The Senate Banking Committee, with jurisdiction of the transit portions of the surface transportation bill, had intended to mark up this week, but Chairman Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) and Ranking Member Richard Shelby (R- Ala.) announced that there were still outstanding issues with their bill and that it will not be marked up this week.
In addition to these two committees, the Senate Finance Committee must also take action to provide the revenue to fund the bill.
For more information, please contact Brian Deery at (703) 837-5319 or deeryb@agc.org.
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