WASHINGTON — Former U.S. Rep. James Oberstar, one of Washington's most outspoken advocates of increased transportation and infrastructure investment, died on Saturday at age 79.
Colleagues and transportation experts remembered Oberstar, a Minnesota Democrat who chaired the House Transportation Committee from 2007-2011 and served on the panel for all of his 36 years on Capitol Hill, as a legislator deeply involved in policy who became very knowledgeable about the nation's infrastructure challenges.
"Congress, Minnesota, and the nation have lost a good man who dedicated his life to public service and our country's transportation system," said current committee chairman Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Pa. Both Shuster and his father, Bud, served with Oberstar on the committee.
"Jim Oberstar was respected and admired for his tireless advocacy for strengthening our infrastructure, first as a staffer, then as a member, and finally as the chairman of this committee," Shuster said. "I believe transportation was truly in his blood, and few possessed his breadth of knowledge and passion for these issues he understood to be so important to America."
Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee chairman Jay Rockefeller also weighed in.
"For three decades, Jim was a tireless champion for investments that would lead to major improvements and advancements in our transportation system and infrastructure," he said. "Every major transportation bill that Jim worked on reflected his vision for the future, and because of his unrelenting courage and hard work, our nation's skies, ports and roads are remarkably safer."
Oberstar was the committee's ranking Democrat in 2005 when Congress approved its last long-term surface transportation funding measure, the six-year $286 billion Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users. After taking the helm of the transportation committee when Democrats won control of the House in 2006, Oberstar repeatedly voiced opposition to short-term extensions of the bill as its expiration ticked closer.
Congressional leaders have struggled to pull together enough bipartisan support to pass more than a two-year bill since SAFETEA-LU's enactment.
Oberstar pushed for passage of a massive six-year $500 billion transportation bill in 2009, but ran into opposition from the White House. Then-Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told Oberstar that the gasoline tax hike needed to fund the bill was impractical at the time, and the administration instead supported an extension of SAFETEA-LU.
Jack L. Schenendorf, of counsel at Covington & Burling LLP in Washington, remembered Oberstar as a transportation expert who was willing to cross party lines to increase U.S. infrastructure investment and stop the slow bleeding of the Highway Trust Fund. Bud Shuster described himself and Oberstar as "joined at the hip" in their efforts to preserve the HTF, Schenendorf recalled. He added that Oberstar was a firm believer that users should pay the cost of infrastructure maintenance.
"It did put him at odds with the executive branch," Schenendorf said.
The HTF has continued to suffer balance declines, and is on the edge of insolvency again. The uncertainty of that revenue has led to the downgrade of many Garvee bonds, which are backed by expenditures from the fund.
After his defeat in the 2010 midterm elections, Oberstar remained an advocate for infrastructure investment and his name was briefly floated as a possible successor to LaHood last year.
"He knew how important infrastructure was," Schenendorf said. "He'll be missed."
