White House Principles Sought for Measure

Transportation stakeholders are concerned that the Obama administration has not released a set of reauthorization principles by the time Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said it would.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Transportation said in an e-mail Friday that the department’s staff is “still working on a set of reauthorization principles, but we don’t have a date for their release yet.”

LaHood told reporters at a conference March 3 sponsored by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials that the administration would unveil its principles for the bill within 90 days.

“We expect the administration to be a full partner in shaping and moving forward the new authorization, so the committee is anxious to see its principles for this legislation,” said House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee spokesman Jim Berard. “The committee is also disappointed that it is taking so long to deliver them.”

Committee chairman James L. Oberstar, D-Minn., released a bill a year ago that would replace the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: a Legacy for Users, or SAFETEA-LU, which expired Sept. 30. Oberstar’s legislation has not yet been considered by the full committee — though it has been approved by a subcommittee — and the House Ways and Means Committee has not yet added a funding source to the bill to cover its $500 billion price tag.

The Senate committees that are responsible for writing transportation laws have not introduced any companion bills.

Finding a revenue source that could replace or augment the existing revenue source — gasoline and diesel taxes and other user fees — has been a major sticking point for lawmakers and the White House.

The administration came out strongly against raising the current 18.4-cent per gallon gasoline tax to help cover increasing costs of infrastructure maintenance and construction, but many stakeholders have argued that a gas tax increase is the most realistic short-term way to raise more funding.

In the meantime, Congress has extended SAFETEA-LU programs — which provide aid to states and localities for highways, bridges, transit, and other infrastructure projects — through the end of this year and has supplemented flagging dedicated tax revenues with money from the country’s general fund.

Industry sources have speculated that it is unlikely Congress will vote on a new reauthorization measure this year, due to upcoming elections in the fall and a steep learning curve for new lawmakers.

The principles that Department of Transportation is working on would precede any White House version of the ­legislation, which is expected next year.

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Transportation industry Washington
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