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Senate Committee Advances Highway Bill
The U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee today approved S. 1813, Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century, or MAP-21. The vote was unanimous, 18-0. The legislation maintains funding at current highway funding levels, reforms the nation's transportation programs to make them more efficient, and provides funding for transportation projects under the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) program to leverage state, local, and private-sector funding.
MAP-21 continues to provide the majority of federal resources to the states through core programs using funding formulas. However, the core highway programs have been consolidated from seven in SAFETEA-LU to five, as follows: The National Highway Performance Program; The Transportation Mobility Program; Highway Safety Improvement Program; National Freight Program; and the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program.
MAP-21 consolidates the 90 existing federal programs to fewer than 30 and eliminates earmarks. MAP-21 also aims to expedite project delivery while protecting the environment.
The National Asphalt Pavement Association's role in supporting the legislation was highlighted by the Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Barbara Boxer (D-CA), at today's meeting. NAPA was successful in fending off a legislative proposal to mandate a new federal life-cycle cost analysis process for all highway projects valued at $5 million or more, and adopt as a single federal pavement design guide the Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide. Instead, the committee adopted NAPA's recommendation for a Government Accountability Office (GAO) study and report on best practices for conducting life-cycle cost analysis. GAO will work with the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials and industry experts in conducting the study.
The chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Max Baucus (D-MT), who also serves as chairman of the committee's Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee, indicated that he was still searching for the extra $13 billion in revenues needed to support MAP-21's funding levels, but that progress is being made in finding those revenues. "We will find the resources on a bipartisan basis to pay for this bill," Senator Baucus said.
NAPA expressed strong support for the legislation prior to the committee's action. "MAP-21 is a well-crafted, balanced surface transportation reauthorization bill that recognizes the need to invest limited federal dollars wisely to ensure the maximum return on investment in our nation's infrastructure," NAPA president Mike Acott said in a letter to the committee leadership. NAPA's letter can be downloaded here.
Today's action will increase pressure on Senate leadership and their House of Representatives counterparts to enact a multi-year highway bill. House Speaker John Boehner announced last week that the House will formally introduce a highway reauthorization bill in the coming weeks.
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