Panel Seeks U.S. Freight Plan

This story appears in the Nov. 4 print edition of Transport Topics.

WASHINGTON — A House panel created to explore freight issues has recommended that Congress create a national freight transportation policy and designate a freight network that includes all transport modes, namely highway, rail, air and water.

The panel also recommended that Congress approve dedicated, sustainable funding for a competitive grant program to pay for large freight improvement projects of national and regional significance.

While the report reviews various methods for raising revenue to pay for new freight infrastructure, it does not contain recommendations, such as higher fuel taxes.

“I think you would have difficulty in raising taxes right at this time,” said Rep. John Duncan (R-Tenn.), the panel’s chairman, “but we’ve encouraged taking a look at all of the different proposals and options to see what we can come up with.”

The group’s ranking Democrat, Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York, said the report may appear to “kick the can down the road” on funding, but it’s notable for its unanimity on freight.

“There’s a total consensus that we have to have robust funding and more revenues for freight transportation, and I mean total — across-the-board, Republicans, Democrats, all the different stakeholders,” Nadler said.

“Everybody recognizes we’re not doing enough, and if this country’s going to remain competitive and efficient, we have to do that.”

On the trucking side, for instance, the panel found that every day, on about 12,000 miles of the national highway system, vehicles slow below posted speed limits and on about 7,000 miles of other highways experience stop-and-go conditions.

“Such congestion negatively impacts the efficiency of the highway system as a reliable mode of transportation,” the report said.

The panel, created by House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.), held several hearings to gather information on freight before the Hill debate on transportation reauthorization.

Congress is to adopt a new spending law to replace MAP-21, the reauthorization measure passed last year and which expires Sept. 30. As the panel report reiterated, the Highway Trust Fund — the current primary source for highway funding projects — is expected to be insolvent in Fiscal 2015.

Despite its lack of funding recommendations, freight experts praised the report for focusing attention on the role freight plays in the economy and for starting the debate on how to pay for freight infrastructure.

“And it’s coming from the right people; it’s coming from the members of the transportation committee,” said Mort Downey, who was a deputy secretary of transportation under President Clinton.

Downey is now co-chairman of the National Freight Advisory Council, created this year by the U.S. Department of Transportation to address the same multimodal freight issues as the House panel.

The panel report is striking because such a politically and geographically diverse group of House members produced a unified position on freight issues, Downey said.

“They are in place now, saying, ‘We need to take a bold step,’ and they understand that next year, when legislation will be under consideration, that freight will be on the agenda,” Downey said.

American Trucking Associations President Bill Graves said the industry is pleased that “it appears the movement of freight will be front and center” in next year’s reauthorization debate.

“We also agree with the panel that Congress and the administration must do something in the next reauthorization to address the looming shortfall in the Highway Trust Fund with sustainable revenue,” Graves said.

“We have said, and continue to believe, that the fuel tax is the most direct and sustainable way of addressing this shortfall rather than other, less traditional financing schemes,” he added. ATA has been supporting an increase in the federal fuel tax to pay for infrastructure improvements.

The panel recommended finding “sustainable sources of revenue” across all modes of transportation, as well as encouraging local governments and private-sector groups to designate resources for commercial driver training.

“To do something big, you basically need Congress and the administration working together,” said Jack Schenendorf, a Washington transportation attorney.

Schenendorf was vice chairman of the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission created by the 2005 transportation reauthorization law.

Much of the content in the new panel report is from the commission’s 2008 report, which also recommended a national freight policy, a designated intermodal freight network and a funding program for large freight projects of national and regional significance.

Unlike the panel report, however, the commission recommended revenue measures that included higher taxes on fuel and on truck and tire sales.

The commission also recommended adding more tolls to highways and raising customs and container fees.