EPW Committee Announces Agreement on Reauthorization Principles

Today, the bipartisan leaders of the Senate Environmental & Public Works (EPW) Committee announced they reached an “agreement in principle” on a reauthorization of MAP-21.  Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), and ranking member David Vitter (R-La.) were joined at the announcement by the Transportation Subcommittee Chairman Tom Carper (D-Del.) and ranking member John Barrasso (R-Wy.), where they said they hoped to pass the bill out of committee in May.  The Senators outlined the basic principles around which the bill will be written.  They include: funding the highway programs at current levels plus annual inflation adjustments; passing a multiyear authorization, if possible; maintaining current state funding formulas; and encouraging rural access to the transportation system. Before the bill can go to the Senate Floor for a vote, three other Senate committees – Banking, Commerce, and Finance – will also need to move their portions of the bill.  The Finance Committee is the most crucial player in this entire reauthorization process.  It is projected that in order to maintain current funding levels plus inflation, the Highway Trust Fund would need an additional $16 billion in revenue.  The length of the bill will be determined by how much revenue the Finance Committee can generate for the trust fund. AGC is encouraged by today’s announcement and looks forward to continue to work with Congress to ensure the timely reauthorization of a federal transportation funding bill, but perhaps more immediately, Congress must  deal with the immediate revenue crisis facing the trust fund this summer.  We urge all AGC chapters and members to get involved and contact your elected officials on these very important issues.  More information can be found at www.hardhatsforhighways.org. For more information, please contact Sean O’Neill at (202) 547-8892 or oneills@agc.org.