Conference of Mayors Vice President Villaraigosa’s America Fast Forward Initiative in Draft Senate Transportation Bill
By Ron Thaniel
May 30, 2011
Senator Barbara Boxer (CA), Chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW), Senator James Inhofe (OK), Ranking Member of the Committee, Senator Max Baucus (MT), Chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee, and Senator David Vitter (LA), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee, said in a statement on May 25 that “great progress” has been made on draft legislation to reauthorize the nation’s surface transportation programs, entitled Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21).
USCM Applauds EPW Leadership for Including America Fast Forward
The draft legislation would include a new section called America Fast Forward, which is an initiative created by The U.S. Conference of Mayors Vice President Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa.
As proposed by Villaraigosa, America Fast Forward would:
- increase the annual Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) funding;
- increase the maximum percentage of the funding allotment that TIFIA can finance;
- permit the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) to approve multiple related projects at the same time; and
- allow USDOT to grant up-front credits to projects; and authorizing USDOT to lock-in interest rates for approved projects.
“Today’s bi-partisan announcement from the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is a critical step towards building the infrastructure our country needs while empowering local governments to create nearly one million jobs across the United States,” Villaraigosa said.
“The legislation now being drafted will create a new section named after our program – America Fast Forward – which will strengthen the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) to leverage billions of federal dollars more effectively so cities and states can access capital and get it out to Main Street America quicker to create jobs now,” said Villaraigosa. “Enabling TIFIA to provide loans to multiple related projects and to cover a larger portion of the projects’ costs will make TIFIA even more valuable to local communities across America, allowing them to leverage the billions of dollars they need to rebuild their infrastructure and put their residents back to work.”
Villaraigosa urged the “leadership in the House of Representatives to follow the lead of the Senate and support America Fast Forward and its call for significant expansion and reformation of TIFIA in order to create private sectors jobs now.”
Passage of Transportation Bill by September Is Uncertain
No markup schedule was announced; however, reports are that the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee leaders hope to markup MAP-21 before the August recess, which is well past the markup planned before Memorial Day announced early this year.
At issue continues to be financing the reauthorization bill. According to Transportation Weekly, MAP-21 would increase surface transportation programs from $286 billion in the current law, SAFETEA-LU, to $339.2 billion over six years. With declining gas tax revenues for surface transportation infrastructure investments, there is no support in the Congress and the Obama Administration to increase the federal gas tax, which is the primary source of funding for surface transportation programs. This would leave at least a $74 billion hole in the Highway Trust Fund. Under MAP-21, transit would continue to receive a share of its funding from the General Fund. EPW leaders said they are working with the Senate Finance Committee on a range of options to support and sustain the Highway Trust Fund.
After months of futility, the statement by EPW leaders does keep the window open that deal could be reached by the end of September to at least clear bills in the House and Senate. The fall is seen as the last opportunity in the Washington transportation community to complete a bill before an already partisan Congress becomes even more partisan with the 2012 presidential election.
Federal transportation programs are continuing under their seventh short-term extension since the 2005 surface transportation reauthorization known as “SAFETEA-LU” expired Sept. 30, 2009. Current authority expires September 2011.
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