House Approves Highway Trust Fund Fix Legislation

The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved legislation to infuse the Highway Account of the Highway Trust Fund with $8 billion from the general Treasury. 

The bill was approved by a vote of 387 to 37, well over the two-thirds vote required.  Prior to the vote, the American Concrete Pavement Association and Portland Cement Association, along with other partners of the Transportation Construction Coalition, urged members and affiliates to contact House Republicans in an effort to build grassroots support.

The Highway Account is projected to hit a zero balance by next year.  At risk are almost almost $11 billion for highway projects, representing an average 34 percent cut to the states and a loss of 380,000 construction jobs nationwide. 

Several Republicans voiced objections to the legislation during the floor debate, charging that the current financing structure for the nation’s transportation needs is inadequate.  The White House also threatened to veto the bill, describing the bill as “…both a gimmick and a dangerous precedent that shifts costs from users to taxpayers at large.”  Even so, the House measure passed by a wider margin than the requisite two-thirds majority needed to prevent a Presidential veto

In the Senate, similar language to H.R. 6532 is contained in the Appropriation Committee-approved Department of Transportation FY 2009 spending bill.  Even so, the future of the bill at this writing is uncertain. 

WASHINGTON BRIEFING readers will recall an unsuccessful attempt to include a provision in the recently Senate-passed extension to the Airport and Airways legislation H.R. 6327.  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) asked for unanimous consent to pass H.R. 6327 with the $8 billion bailout, but Senator James DeMint (R-S.C.) objected, saying that the aviation extension bill was not the appropriate legislative vehicle.  (Click here to see archived story.)

Given the Senate’s reluctance to accept much of anything coming from the House, the best chances for passage would be based on inclusion in a continuing resolution or other bill likely to receive Senate support. 
NACA partners ACPA and PCA will continue to work this issue with other transportation-construction concerns, as well as key legislative contacts. 

Contact David Hubbard or Leif Wathne.

Bridge Repair and Inspection Bill Clears House

The U.S. House of Representatives yesterday approved H.R. 3999, the National Highway Bridge Reconstruction and Inspection Act, by a vote of 367 to 55. 

The legislation authorizes an additional $1 billion for bridge reconstruction projects, above the $4.5 billion authorized annually.  The bill also increases the frequency of bridge inspections, and establishes uniform inspection standards.

The bill is aimed at approximately 6,000 bridges on the National Highway System, including the Eisenhower Interstate System and other major highways, which carry  45 percent of the nation’s traffic. 

Responding to Republican concerns during floor debate over a provision limiting states’ ability to transfer bridge funds to other transportation programs, Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.) suggested the bridge program could be eliminated altogether when the new surface transportation authorization law is up for renewal. 

“Maybe we should just simply have a bridge inspection program and require states to act on the results of their own bridge inspections made to these new higher standards and verified by the National Academy of Sciences,”  he said.

No companion legislation has yet been introduced in the U.S. Senate and the likelihood of Senate completing action on such legislation remains uncertain.  The White House also expressed objections this week over certain provisions in the bill.

Contact David Hubbard.

Senate Republicans Hold Forum on Card Check Legislation

The U.S. Senate Republican Conference on Monday held a forum chaired by Senator Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), to discuss the importance of preserving federally supervised private ballot elections, specifically regarding when workers may decide on whether or not to join a union.

The forum was part of a bigger, more organized effort by Senate Republicans to raise voter awareness about the dangers of pending legislation titled the Employee Free Choice Act, also known as Card Check.

The legislation would replace federally supervised private ballot elections workers typically use to decide if they want to join a union or not, with a so-called card check system. With the card check system, a simple majority of workers would have to sign cards to unionize a work place.

Senate Republicans, along with the business community and the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace, are attempting to use Card Check as a wedge issue for voters in November.

Their strategy aims to garner the requisite number of votes to keep a strong minority of Republicans in office, thereby ensuring the legislation’s defeat when, most likely, it comes up in the 111th Congress.

Contact Kerri Leininger or Kevin Walgenbach.

The grants will be administered by EPA’s National Clean Diesel Campaign to manufacturers of buses, medium and heavy-duty trucks, marine engines, locomotives, and non-road engines.

State, local, and regional governments, as well as non-profit organizations and institutions with transportation interests, will also be eligible to receive grant money.

The grant proposal deadline is September 21, 2008.

Contact Kevin Walgenbach.

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