Oberstar Wants Road Funds Included in Jobs Legislation
This story appears in the Dec. 7 print edition of Transport Topics.
WASHINGTON — Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.), the chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said he was crafting an infrastructure jobs program to supplement federal stimulus efforts.
Oberstar, at a press conference here Dec. 2, said he is working with the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, Rep. David Obey (D-Wis.), to fashion a two-year infrastructure spending commitment that would provide new employment.
“We have been in serious conversations about the coming confluence of bad news and how to address it,” Oberstar said, citing declining Highway Trust Fund revenue, the ending of federal stimulus funding and the growing number of states with budget deficits.
In response to a question about whether their proposal would be about $100 billion over two years, Oberstar responded, “What’s been reported is generally in the ballpark of what we’re talking about.”
Oberstar and Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), chairman of his panel’s highway and transit subcommittee, spoke at the release of a list of “ready-to-go” projects compiled by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials and the American Public Transit Association.
The groups said states have as much as $69.5 billion in projects that could be underway within 120 days. They said $47 billion of that total are highway construction projects.
“If you line up the legislation, we again stand ready to deliver for the American people,” said John Horsley, AASHTO executive director.
The press conference came the day before President Obama convened a jobs summit at the White House. In October, the unemployment rate hit 10.2% and a Bloomberg News survey of economists said that it was likely to remain unchanged in November.
“My expectation is . . . at the end of this jobs summit there will be some movement by the White House toward this jobs initiative that we’ve described,” Oberstar said.
The chairman also indicated the House may take up a measure before the end of the year.
“We need to get this passed. We need to beat the deadline; we only have 16 days left in this session,” he said, referring to the Dec. 18 targeted adjournment for the year.
“It is our opportunity now and our necessity and urgency to invest in jobs, extend the stimulus, cover the gap for the states and be prepared to move on a longer-term authorization for the benefit of the country,” Oberstar said.
Earlier in the week, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said Democrats are going to work to extend unemployment benefits and health insurance subsidies before they begin to phase out Jan. 1. He added were committed to increasing road and bridge spending.
On the other side of Capitol Hill, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, said work was underway on a similar measure.
“It is the intention of the leadership to put this out there around January, early in the year,” she said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
