|
Transportation and Infrastructure
Schock Ushers in Passage of Long-term Highway Bill
Highway Bill Cuts Construction Time in Half
Click here to learn more.
Our transportation infrastructure is in dire need of improvement. Airport delays grow longer every year due to a lack of runways and gates, congestion on the highways costs the country 4.2 billion hours in wasted time and the locks on the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers were designed for Mark Twain’s steamboat not modern barges. These deficiencies increase transportation costs, which in turn drive up the cost of every product we buy and make American products less attractive on the world market.
To correct these problems I am fully committed to increasing the capacity of our roads, rails, runways and rivers. I have been a fierce advocate in fighting to ensure the needed upgrades to our transportation system actually happen.
In the 111th Congress, I introduced a bill that would require any unspent money from the so-called “Stimulus bill” to be used for transportation purposes. The fact that Congress has failed to pass a new long-term Highway Bill is unacceptable. The last long-term bill expired back in 2009, and we have been operating under short-term extensions that fail to create lasting improvements and much needed jobs.
One of the main reasons for the failure to pass a new long-term bill during the past two years has been the disparity between projected spending and the much lower projections of the revenue flows to the highway trust fund (HTF). Taxes on gasoline and diesel provide 90% of the revenues for the HTF. The rates on these taxes, which are on a cents-per-gallon basis, have not been increased since 1993. In addition, the conditions of the economy and improvements in fuel economy have held down fuel consumption and as a result are adversely affecting HTF revenues. Therefore, Congress faces a dilemma: how to pass a bill without cutting infrastructure spending, raising the gas tax, or increasing the budget deficit.
Aaron holds a press conference in Springfield to urge Congress
to pass a long-term highway bill |
The recent economic downturn and the improvements in vehicle fuel efficiency have reduced fuel tax revenues. The highway account has already required three transfers from the general fund totaling $29.7 billion, without which the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) might not have been able to pay states for work they completed.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), in its August 30, 2011, HTF baseline projection, showed that the highway account is expected to have an unexpended balance of $4.2 billion at the end of FY2012 and a negative $8.4 billion balance by the end of FY2013.
The CBO projections show the excess of outlays over tax revenues plus interest as $9 billion for FY2012 and $11.6 billion for FY2013. A gap of roughly $10 billion per year remains through FY2021. CBO projects that the mass transit account, which received a $4.8 billion general fund transfer in FY2010, will remain above zero through FY2013 but then fall to a negative $2 billion balance by the end of FY2014. The end of year negative balance falls further, to -$5.6 billion at the end of FY2015 and deepens rapidly thereafter. These are the gaps that Congress faces as we work to move reauthorization legislation.
However, the challenges don’t make the need for a new bill go away. The American Society for Civil Engineers (ASCE) gives our transportation infrastructure a grade of “D,” and a recent federal report estimated that more than 11 percent of the nation’s bridges need timely repairs to avoid unsafe structural deficiencies. A new bill will create true economic development and put our country on a path to prosperity, as opposed to another short term “shot in the arm” that has been proposed by President Obama. These types of short-term extensions fail to recognize that meaningful, large scale transportation projects take years to plan, approve, and implement.
It is with all of this in mind that I have spearheaded an initiative in the House to push for a fully-paid for and long-term bill. I lead conversations with the House Speaker and Transportation Committee Chairman, and urged them to link new oil and gas leasing revenue with funding for a long-term Highway Bill. This would not only be good for America’s energy security, but it would mean that we can fund important transportation projects without adding to our national debt. Additionally, I authored a letter to President Obama, co-signed by 110 other Members of Congress, and asked for his support of a long-term Highway Bill. This was a bi-partisan letter that included an equal number of Democrats and Republicans. I also made a point to reiterate the importance of a new Highway Bill during various national and local media appearances. Sixty cents out of every highway dollar doesn’t go toward actual construction, it goes to keeping the bureaucracy operating. I believe that there are many ways to cut back on red-tape and burdensome nonsense regulations, so that more money can actual go toward job-creating construction projects. For example, when the I-35W Minnesota Bridge collapsed in 2007, the replacement bridge was completed in 437 days. This is extremely quick compared to other projects that can drag on for nearly a decade. If we found ways to expedite the re-building of this bridge, surely we can find ways to expedite other transportation projects.
Global employers considering a presence in the United States will require a modern transportation infrastructure that enables them to move their finished products to the global market place in a timely and cost-efficient manner. Our aging and congested system is a strong disincentive for firms to expand their presence in the United States and create jobs here at home. A long-term transportation authorization will help make America more competitive in the global marketplace and create jobs in all sectors of our economy.
Short-term proposals might fill a few pot holes and repave some roads, but it won’t create true and lasting development.
A long term highway bill will put people to work now, give states the longevity they need to plan and also help make the U.S. a manufacturing leader once again as businesses desiring to expand, locate and invest will do so here in the U.S. as we will have increased the ease in which they can transport their goods to the marketplace.
Specifically, some of the Illinois roadway projects that I support include: the Eastern Bypass, which would connect Interstate 74 with Illinois Route 6, east and north of Peoria; the Illinois 336, which would be a four-lane highway from Peoria to Macomb; improvements to U.S. Route 67 Corridor, which extends from I-280 at Rock Island to I-270 south of Alton; and the extension of Veterans Drive in Pekin; and revitalizing the Warehouse District in Peoria. Ensuring these projects are completed is important to the economic vitality of our state.
Making sure that our nation’s farmers and manufacturers can efficiently ship their goods into the global marketplace is vital to America’s prosperity. Unfortunately, many of the locks and dams along the Illinois and Mississippi River are dilapidated and in need of serious repair. That is why I authored a letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers regarding the importance of the Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program (NESP). This program works to improve the locks and dams along our rivers. I also lead a letter to House Appropriators reading the importance of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Construction Account, which funds programs to improve locks and dams.
I introduced that Agricultureal Machinery Illumination Safety Act, which would require standards for lighting and marking requirements on agriculture machinery. This will help ensure that drivers on rural roads are safe when farmers are transporting their product from the fields.
During the 112th Congress, I have made it a point to fight against initiatives that will hurt our transportation network.
For instance, I voted against misguided amendments that would have stripped Amtrak of funding. Amtrak is important to our nation, and especially the State of Illinois.
I have made it a point to protect our general aviation community. I co-sponsored the BARR Preservation Act, which would prohibit the FAA from releasing private information about the movements of private aircraft. I also co-authored a letter to the House leadership and urged them to oppose general aviation tax increases.
I also have championed issues that are important to motorcycle riders. I co-sponsored efforts to ban the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration from lobbying state legislators with federal tax dollars, and instead required them to focus on crash prevention and rider education and training.
I sent a letter to the Secretary of Transportation and urged him not to move forward with costly and not needed street and road sign replacement mandates on local governments. And, I co-authored a letter to the House Transportation Committee and urged them to support efforts to protect U.S. airline carriers from burdensome European environmental regulations that would have cost American jobs and raised airline ticket prices.
Overall, there is still much more work to be done. I will continue to be an advocate for all forms of transportation, as doing so is imperative to keeping America competitive in a global marketplace.
|
