On March 17, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee held a hearing on reauthorizing the federal surface transportation law, which is currently set to expire on May 31, 2015. North Carolina’s Governor, Pat McCrory, testified at the hearing on behalf of the National Governors Association and North Carolina. Governor McCrory’s testimony conveyed that an effective surface transportation system must have a long-term vision and funding stability, and also requires an intergovernmental partnership. He asked lawmakers to pass a multi-year surface transportation law that provides states with the certainty necessary for budgeting and planning as well as the flexibility to decide how to use federal funds for transportation. The committee also heard from the mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah, who testified on behalf of the National League of Cities, and the director of Wyoming’s Department of Transportation, testifying on behalf of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
A significant obstacle in the way of Congress passing a long-term transportation bill will be finding agreement on a way to pay for the measure. Given the apparent lack of political will at the federal level to raise the gas tax, Rep. Bill Shuster (R-PA), Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, last week expressed support for the idea of giving corporations a tax break to encourage them to bring home their overseas profits and using the tax revenue collected on these profits to shore up the Highway Trust Fund. Lawmakers in the House and Senate, as well as the White House, have proposed variations of this idea. However, this idea is opposed by other key lawmakers, such as Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT). It will be up to the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee, chaired by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), to put forward a plan to fund federal surface transportation programs.
