Capitol Agenda for the Week of Feb. 27: We The Rural States

During a Feb. 26 meeting with the governors, Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao acknowledged public-private partnerships are unlikely to work well for small town USA. A month ago, she touted P3s during her Senate confirmation hearing. After listening to Chao, the governors met with President Trump to explain their need for accessing additional federal dollars and reducing regulations for construction projects.

Dozens of governors and congressional transportation leaders have pushed back already on the Trump administration’s notion that private capital would be enough to address funding woes for big-ticket infrastructure. Gov. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) emphasized that P3s require lots of cars for investors to realize a profit. And that requisite volume of traffic just isn’t there in rural America.

“There’s got to be additional resources, and states will have to come up with additional resources. The federal government will have to come up with those resources,” Hickenlooper told reporters at the National Governors Association’s closing press conference on Feb. 27. Earlier this month, Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, was more succinct when he said P3s “do not work for rural areas.”

Trump will address Congress on Feb. 28. It’s anybody’s guess what he will say about infrastructure.

The Senate Commerce Committee, with jurisdiction over trucking policy, scheduled a hearing a day after Trump’s address with South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard (R), Shirley Bloomfield, CEO of NTCA-The Rural Broadband Association, Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine and Carlos Braceras, executive director of the Utah Department of Transportation. The hearing will be third time this year Congress hears from rural officials on transportation.

Braceras is in town for the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials conference, which will feature Barrasso and Chao.

THE WEEK AHEAD:

Feb. 28-March 3: The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials’ Washington Briefing. On March 1, Secretary Chao, as well as the chairmen and ranking members of the House and Senate transportation panels are scheduled to address the group. On March 2, American Trucking Associations President Chris Spear will participate on a panel.

Feb. 28-March 1: National Association of Counties hosts its legislative conference. 

Feb. 28, 5:30 p.m.: The American Planning Association holds a discussion on "Recognizing Community Sustainability." Vatsal Bhatt, director of cities and neighborhood developments at the U.S. Green Building Council, and David Rouse, research director for APA, are scheduled speakers.

March 1, 10 a.m.: Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation meets for a hearing titled, “Connecting America: Improving Access to Infrastructure for Communities Across the Country.”

March 1, 10 a.m.: The House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans meets for a hearing on "Modernizing Western Water and Power Infrastructure in the 21st Century."

March 1, 10:30 a.m.: Senate Environment and Public Works Committee meets for a hearing on "Flood Control Infrastructure: Safety Questions Raised by Current Events."

March 1, 11 a.m.: House Subcommittee on Aviation meets for a hearing on "Building a 21st Century Infrastructure for America: State of American Airports."

March 2, 7:45 a.m.: The Ripon Society holds a discussion on "The Border Adjustment Tax & Tax Reform" with Republican Reps. Peter Roskam of Illinois, James Renacci of Ohio and Patrick Meehan of Pennsylvania.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

ELDs: The president of ERoad North America predicted on Feb. 26 his company’s electronic logging device will be the first type of tethered recorder to win approval from federal regulators.

TRILLIONS: Trucks, cars and buses accounted for 3.2 trillion miles driven in the country last year, according to an estimate released by the Federal Highway Administration on Feb. 21.

SAFETY FITNESS: Several dozen truck and bus trade organizations sent a letter to Secretary Chao asking her to rescind and put on delay a proposed carrier safety fitness determination rule based on the federal Compliance, Safety, Accountability program’s scoring system.

WHAT WE’RE READING:

Where is the darn $1 trillion infrastructure investment plan Trump had promised? The Gray Lady wants to know.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

“I think that it’s reasonable that it’s going to pass.” — Alaska Gov. Bill Walker (I), speaking to Transport Topics on Feb. 26 in Washington, D.C., on the probability of his state's approving an increase in the gas tax this year. Walker proposed tripling the 8-cent-per-gallon tax over a two-year period.

FAVORITE VIDEO:

Financial Times editor Ed Crooks joined PBS Newshour for an examination of states’ plans to raise taxes on fuel to pay for infrastructure projects.

FAVORITE TWEET:

Whiskey is for drinking. Water is for fighting.  Sen. Tom Carper, ranking Democrat on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, highlights the importance of water infrastructure.

Discussed water infrastructure in #MilfordDE today. Too often, we neglect our water systems, but they're critical to healthy communities pic.twitter.com/zW0bKkmxdc — Sen. Tom Carper (@SenatorCarper) February 24, 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.