Highway Bill Could Languish for Years 6.28.10
from NATSO News Weekly

Despite statements that the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee intends to move the highway reauthorization bill through the committee this year, several top transportation officials last week expressed concern that surface transportation legislation will stagnate for years.

Speaking at an American Highway Users Alliance meeting, the committee's Senior Policy Director Kathy Dedrick said Senate EPW works on highway reauthorization policy daily despite the lack of a clear plan for financing the bill from Congressional leadership and the Obama Administration.

Several leading transportation officials said the Department of Transportation's current direction is focused on "livability" rather than freight and infrastructure. They predicted the government will continuously extend the existing highway bill until a new administration takes office. Short-term extensions limit the ability of state and local governments to plan and pay for long-term highway projects.

Dedrick encouraged attendees to educate all members of Congress about the importance of the bill to "create momentum on the outside." Senator Max Baucus (D-Mont.) also said the impetus for a highway bill is going "to have to come from outside the beltway" and that the industry needed to "re-establish the primacy" of transportation.