Reauthorization’s Rocky Road
This Editorial appears in the June 29 print edition of Transport Topics. Click here to subscribe today.
We need to be leery of the battle involving the Obama administration, the Senate and the House of Representatives over the direction of federal transportation policy out of concern that political bickering could delay necessary decisions and infrastructure projects.
The White House’s unexpected move to seek an 18-month delay in congressional consideration of the primary bill to renew funding for years to come is certainly a concern for those of us whose livelihoods depend on the roadways to deliver the freight.
One of the reasons we were surprised by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood’s call for postponing action is that it came on the same day the Democratic party’s top House member on transportation issues, Rep. James Oberstar (Minn.), released a comprehensive, six-year plan.
Rep. Oberstar and his colleagues on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee have spent the past three years working on their bill, which proposes some fundamental changes in policy (see stories, pp. 1, 5; click here for subscriber-content story). And they say the nation can’t wait 18 additional months to address pressing needs.
The White House’s handling of the matter clearly blindsided Rep. Oberstar and colleagues on both sides of the aisle and undercut their bid to pass the landmark legislation.
The administration quickly found support in the Senate, in the person of Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), chairwoman of the Environment and Public Works Committee. She contended that there were too many irons in the legislative fire to allow for reasoned consideration of transportation policy at this time.
It was hard to remember at times that President Obama, Rep. Oberstar and Sen. Boxer are from the same party, considering how far apart they seem to be in this instance.
While we were happy to see Secretary LaHood urge Congress to provide temporary funding to shore up the ailing Highway Trust Fund, we are worried that serious problems will be held hostage as the House, Senate and White House joust over who will control the debate.
The issues facing our nation’s transportation system are too important to become secondary to political infighting, and since the Democrats are in control of the White House and the Congress, they can’t blame partisanship for any impasse.
Let’s hope Secretary LaHood, Rep. Oberstar and Sen. Boxer find a way to work together to ensure that we come out of this debate with a solid, well thought out and firmly funded program for improving our transportation system.
