Mica Expected to Unveil $250 Billion Highway Bill

This story appears in the Jan. 30 print edition of Transport Topics.

A five-year transportation reauthorization bill that would provide around $250 billion for projects and safety programs is expected to be unveiled this week by Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.), chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

According to an outline of the “American Energy and Infrastructure Act” obtained by Transport Topics, the bill also contains a provision being championed by the trucking industry to create a federal drug and alcohol clearinghouse.

That provision also is contained in a two-year reauthorization bill currently moving through the Senate.

No sources contacted by TT said they had seen the new proposal.

A spokesman for American Trucking Associations, Sean McNally, said the federation is optimistic about the legislation, based on what officials have heard about it.

“From what we’ve seen and heard about the bill’s contents, we are very pleased that the House appears to be moving forward with a sensible, long-term . . . bill that will . . . enhance our nation’s infrastructure and improve truck safety and efficiency,” McNally said.

The most recent highway funding law, SAFETEA-LU, originally expired in 2009 but has been extended multiple times, most recently until March 31.

The Senate bill, which would authorize $109 billion in spending over two years — including the current year — has been approved by that body’s Environment and Public Works and Commerce committees.

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and James Inhofe (R-Okla.), sponsors of the Senate legislation, said last year it would not address controversial issues such as high-speed rail, which they believed could sink the bill.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told TT last week that differences in the bills could doom any chance of getting legislation passed this year.

“I think the difference between a two-year bill and a five-year bill is a pretty big gulf to overcome,” LaHood said.

The Mica bill, LaHood said, does not have an adequate funding mechanism for five years’ worth of spending.

The Republicans have said they will fund the bill with a plan to expand oil and gas drilling offshore and in the Alaska wilderness, although the Congressional Budget Office has said tax revenues from new drilling would not be enough to fund the bill, and the drilling permits would not generate revenue in time for this year.

The Mica outline that was obtained said: “By removing barriers to new energy production, this fiscally responsible proposal will create a new, sustainable revenue stream for infrastructure improvements, lower energy costs and create infrastructure- and energy- sector jobs across the country.”

Many senators, including Boxer, oppose expanded oil production in what they regard as environmentally sensitive areas.

Mica’s outline also said the bill would consolidate or eliminate as many as 70 “duplicative programs or programs not in the federal interest” within the Department of Transportation. The Senate has similar downsizing provisions.

The House bill also would eliminate the requirement that states spend certain amounts of federal highway money on what are known as transportation enhancements — for example, landscaping or historic preservation projects.