Subcommittee on Highways & Transit

John J. Duncan, Jr., Ranking Republican

The Subcommittee has jurisdiction over our nation’s highway, transit, and highway safety programs, as well as the policy that governs how highway and transit projects are planned, approved, and constructed.

The law that provides funding and sets the policy for the federal highway, transit, and highway safety programs expired in October 2009. The Obama Administration and the Democrat-controlled Congress have been unable to move a long-term Surface Transportation Reauthorization bill since these programs expired and as a result the programs have been operating under a series of five short-term extensions, the most recent of which keeps the programs operating until December 31, 2010.

The unpredictability associated with operating under short-term extensions has caused state DOTs and public transit agencies to delay major construction projects, robbing the U.S. economy of thousands of new jobs that are needed to get our economy back on track.

On September 6, 2010, nearly one year after the previous surface transportation reauthorization bill expired, President Obama announced his plan to reauthorize the surface transportation programs. But rather than sending Congress a comprehensive reauthorization proposal, he sent a three page outline that is supported by an increase in taxes and will do nothing to speed up the process by which transportation projects are approved and constructed.

Republicans will continue to push for a robust six-year surface transportation authorization bill that includes the following priorities:

Stabilizing the Highway Trust Fund: The federal gas tax that funds our nation’s surface transportation programs is becoming more and more obsolete every day. As our cars and trucks become more fuel efficient we use less and less fuel resulting in less revenue coming into the Highway Trust Fund. We need to explore sustainable ways to fund these programs in the future, such as eliminating the federal gas tax and replacing it with an alternative funding mechanism.

Better Leveraging our Revenue Sources: The federal government and states need to do more with less, and place a priority on better leveraging their existing revenue sources. We need to establish a National Infrastructure Bank that can support billions of dollars worth of transportation projects. In addition, we need to provide states the flexibility they need to address their unique transportation challenges by establishing innovative financing options so they can better leverage their existing funding sources and take advantage of private sector expertise and private sector capital.

Cutting Red Tape & Expediting Projects – The 437 Day Plan: It takes an average of seven years to obtain all of the approvals necessary to begin a standard highway construction project. That is seven years before a shovel even goes in the ground. Republicans will continue to work to eliminate unnecessary bureaucratic red tape so that highway and transit projects can be built in half the time and taxpayer money can be spent more efficiently. If we can rebuild the bridge in Minneapolis that tragically collapsed in 2007 within 437 days, we can certainly speed up the process for all highway and transit projects. (more information)

National Strategic Transportation Plan: Not since President Eisenhower laid out his vision for the Interstate Highway System in the 1950’s has the nation had a strategic plan for our transportation system. Ranking Member Mica is the leading advocate for creating a National Strategic Transportation Plan and has written legislation that will require the federal government to establish a 20-year strategic vision for our nation’s transportation system so we can determine how to best utilize our federal transportation dollars.

Public Transit Safety: Public transportation is the safest form of passenger transportation. Yet the Obama Administration wants to create a new federal bureaucracy supported by 200 new employees to oversee transit safety. Republicans are committed to providing additional tools and resources to states and local governments to oversee their local transit systems without a dramatic expansion of an already bloated federal workforce. (more information)