DALLAS — Lawmakers next Tuesday will begin considering reauthorizing the federal surface transportation funding program at a hearing held by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
The current federal transportation infrastructure funding law, Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century, or MAP-21 as it is called, was adopted in 2012 and will expire on Sept. 30, the end of fiscal 2014.
The committee, chaired by Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Pa., will hear from Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin, chair of the National Governors Association, and Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, representing the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
Questions about California's High Speed Rail project will be raised at a hearing on Wednesday held by the committee's railroads, pipelines, and hazardous materials subcommittee. Panel chairman Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Calif., said recent court state court actions have raised concerns about the availability of funds to complete the rail project.
The California project is the largest high-speed intercity passenger rail program administered by the Federal Railroad Administration. Dunham said he wants to explore the project's financial viability and how the FRA "plans to protect the federal taxpayers' dollars."
A plan by California High-Speed Rail Authority to issue more than $8 billion of bonds to finance the rail system between San Francisco and Los Angeles was halted in late November by state court Judge Michael Kenny who said the authority's finance committee failed to adequately disclose what factors it considered when authorizing the bond sale.
A voter-approved bond measure in 2008 allows the state to sell $9.95 billion on bonds to help fund the $68 billion rail project.
The panel will hear from Dan Richard, chairman of the California High Speed Rail Authority, and Joseph Szabo, head of the Federal Railroad Administration.
Action on the surface transportation funding program will also require bolstering the rapidly depleting Highway Trust Fund. The Congressional Budget Office said in 2013 that the Highway Trust Fund will not be able to meet current funding obligations by 2015 and will need transfers from the general fund totaling $92 billion a year by 2023.
Congress has transferred a total of $41 billion into the Highway Trust Fund since fiscal 2008, including $13 billion in Fiscal 2014. Maintaining the current fund level would require a $15 billion transfer in 2015.
Meanwhile, the head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said Wednesday that the business group will push for a multi-year reauthorization of the two-year federal surface funding measure and quick implementation of a water resources bill pending before a House-Senate conference committee.
Chamber president and chief executive officer Thomas Donohue used Wednesday's annual State of American Business address to reinforce the chamber's support for a robust transportation system.
"Trading around the world and moving energy across the country requires a safe, seamless, and modern infrastructure," Donohue said.
"House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, (R-Va.), said last week he expects a vote on a compromise water bill by the end of January.
