DALLAS - Pressure from constituents could propel Congress to pass a fully funded multiyear transportation bill before the current short-term extension expires in less than three months, industry advocates said Monday at a transit association conference in Washington, D.C.
Peter Ruane, president and chief executive officer of the American Road & Transportation Builders Association, conceded he was going against the conventional wisdom in predicting quick passage of a long-term federal transportation measure before the May 31 expiration of the current short-term patch.
"We're going to get a long-term piece of legislation by the end of May," he said at the American Public Transit Association's annual conference.
"I think you're going to see a very serious attempt to finally deal with this in the coming weeks," he said. "Sometimes people think we're foolish, but we're not members of the surrender brigade in this town, and it's a pretty big brigade."
Ruane urged the transit conference attendees to meet with, and write to, their senators and representatives as part of a campaign for quick completion of a legislative package to fund highways and transit for at least four years.
The federal transportation funding impasse is a political problem that needs to be solved through political means, he said.
"You've got to say, folks, if you don't do the right thing there will be consequences, political consequences," he said.
"They are not going to listen otherwise," Ruane said. "You've got to get in their face [and say], 'We're paying attention. We're not stupid. We're going to be storming [Capitol] Hill.'"
Janet Kavinoky, executive director for transportation and infrastructure at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, was not as optimistic as Ruane about quick passage of a multiyear federal surface transportation bill.
Only 83 days remain of solvency in the Highway Trust Fund, she said, and Congress recently spent six weeks debating a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security and three weeks on the Keystone Pipeline bill that President Obama vetoed.
Next on Congress' agenda will be debates on the federal debt ceiling and the fate of the Import-Export Bank, both of which will take a lot of time and attention away from a transportation bill, Kavinoky said.
"There is a lot of noise on Capitol Hill," she said.
It's important to stress the economic value of transit systems when meeting with lawmakers as well as congressional staffers, Kavinoky said.
"You've got to explain to them how transit fits into the economy, how it fits into your transportation system, but most importantly, how important the federal government is to that," she said.
Resolving the HTF's revenue shortfall of some $13 billion to $15 billion per year over the foreseeable future could be accomplished by raising the federal gasoline tax, both Ruane and Kavinoky said.
The 10-month extension of the Highway Trust Fund passed by Congress in July 2014 that runs out on May 31 required an $11 billion infusion from the general fund because the gasoline tax wasn't generating enough revenue, Ruane said.
Congress should revive the HTF by raising the federal gasoline tax of 18.4 cents per gallon and calling it a "user fee," Ruane said.
"It's elementary," he said. "Raise the bloody user fee. It's the simplest, most effective, and most reliable way to get it done."
