Capitol Agenda for the Week of Feb. 13: Keep It Moving

Two congressional hearings this month called into question the potential benefits of private capital in advancing infrastructure projects. Stakeholder after stakeholder on Capitol Hill, ranging from the CEO of FedEx Corp. to the directors of the Wyoming and Colorado departments of transportation, indicated such private partnerships wouldn’t help in rural America. Basically, rural roadways lack the requisite vehicular traffic for firms to realize a return on investments if they were to set up tolls. Lawmakers representing suburbia and exurbia agreed. P3s “do not work for rural areas,” said Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, during a hearing Feb. 8.

Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg News

Yet, the recent indication from the White House that it intends to stick with an infrastructure funding proposal centered on public-private partnerships portends a possible clash with congressional leaders. A day after the EPW hearing, Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters President Trump reaffirmed his commitment to forging “public-private partnerships that will rebuild America’s crumbling infrastructure.” Trump’s campaign pledge was to unveil an infrastructure plan during his first 100 days in office that would achieve a $1 trillion investment through tax breaks. His secretary of transportation, Elaine Chao, has touted P3s before Congress. We’re told the administration is planning to unveil a proposal in a few weeks. Before that happens, transportation authorizers are continuing to meet with stakeholders. This week, the Senate’s surface transportation subcommittee will meet with the leaders of BNSF Railway, Schneider, Dow Chemical Co., and Amtrak to gain their insight about the country’s multimodal transportation system. For planning purposes, don’t expect P3s to receive a ringing endorsement.

THE WEEK AHEAD

David Paul Morris/Bloomberg News

Feb. 14, 10:15 a.m.: The House Subcommittee on Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection holds a hearing on self-driving cars. Witnesses include Mike Abelson, vice president of global strategy for General Motors; Nidhi Kalra, co-director and senior information scientist at the RAND Center for Decision Making Under Uncertainty; Anders Karrberg, vice president of government affairs for the Volvo Car Group; Joseph Okpaku, vice president of public policy for Lyft; and Gill Pratt, executive technical advisor and CEO of Toyota Research Institute.

Feb. 14, 1 p.m.: The Bureau of Indian Affairs holds a teleconference of the Office of Trust Services, Division of Water and Power, to gather input from landowners served by Indian dams on the implementation of the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act.

Feb. 15, 10 a.m.: The House Subcommittee on Aviation meets to examine the state of American aviation manufacturing.

Feb. 15, 10 a.m.: House Subcommittee on Energy meets on "Modernizing Energy and Electricity Delivery Systems: Challenges and Opportunities to Promote Infrastructure Improvement and Expansion."

Feb. 15, 2:30 p.m.: Senate Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety and Security meets on "Moving America: Stakeholder Perspectives on our Multimodal Transportation System." Witnesses include Matthew Rose, executive chairman of BNSF Railway; Christopher Lofgren, CEO of Schneider; Tom Gurd, vice president of integrated supply chain for Dow Chemical Co.; and Wick Moorman, president and CEO of Amtrak.

Feb. 15: The American Society of Civil Engineers hosts the premiere of the film, “Dream Big.”

Feb. 15-18: The National Association of Secretaries of State host its 2017 Winter Conference.

Feb. 16, 8 a.m.: The Ripon Society holds a discussion with Rep. Pat Tiberi (R-Ohio) on the Republican’s strategy for replacing Obamacare.

Feb. 16, 10:30 a.m.: The Senate Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security Subcommittee will meet for a hearing titled, “Stakeholder Perspectives on Improving TSA for the Security of the Traveling Public.”

Feb. 16, 1:15 p.m.: Bloomberg Government holds a webinar on "Tackling the Budget: 2017 Resolutions and 2018 Submission," with a focus on Trump's first budget request.

Feb. 17, 8:30 a.m.: The Bipartisan Policy Center, the Center for American Progress and the Brookings Institution meet on "States of Change: Demographic Shifts, Representation Gaps, and America's Future."

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

Hunter Harrison by Chris Goodney/Bloomberg News

CSX NEWS: CSX Corp. has extended the deadline two weeks to nominate board members in a move that allows a private hedge fund to continue negotiations with the railroad company to install former Canadian Pacific CEO Hunter Harrison atop the rival railroad.

‘LAST RESORT’: As South Carolina lawmakers weigh raising the gas tax, Gov. Henry McMaster (R) urged them to see any tax hike as a “last resort,” according to several Republicans he addressed. McMaster spoke to Republican House members Feb. 7 at their private lunch.

PORTS: Infrastructure proposals congressional Republican leaders and the Trump administration come up with this year should prioritize funding for improvement projects along seaports, the group representing the country’s ports indicated last week.

WHAT WE’RE READING:

Investor’s Business Daily lays out the megaprojects argument in the era of Trump. Bent Flyvbjerg expertise helps to elucidate the editorial. 

FAVORITE QUOTE:

“For those who believe that public-private partnerships are the sun, the moon, and stars in terms of infrastructure funding, they’re going to be disappointed. Can they be part of it, sure, especially where there’s tolling and more urban areas, more developed areas and with new construction. It’s a piece of the pie, piece of the puzzle, not the big piece.” 

 — Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), ranking member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, speaking to reporters Feb. 8.

FAVORITE VIDEO:

Peter Orszag and Jason Furman promote the “If You Build It” report on infrastructure produced by The Brookings Institution.

FAVORITE TWEET:

It’s always baseball season, and Mr. Met of the Amazing New York Mets (sorry, Yankees fans) hung out by an Old Dominion truck.

Off to Port St. Lucie!! Thanks to @ODFL_Inc for helping get all of the team's equipment (minus anything that said Syndergaard) down to FL. ?? pic.twitter.com/Yqv8gPYX0Q — Mr. Met (@MrMet) February 3, 2017

Thanks for reading Capitol Agenda! We publish Tuesdays when Congress is in session. E-mail emulero@ttnews.com with tips. Follow us @eugenemulero and @transporttopics