By Kevin McCarty
July 16, 2012

Conference of Mayors President Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter, joined by other Conference of Mayors leaders, praised Congress for enacting new federal surface transportation legislation, authorizing more than $100 billion over the next two fiscal years in funding for the nation's highways, bridges and transit systems.

"The nation's mayors commend Congress for finally acting, and after more than 1,000 days of operating under short-term extensions, we will end the cycle of uncertainty that has threatened jobs and new investment in our cities and their metro economies. With this cloud lifted, mayors and other local leaders can now use the resources this agreement provides to improve the performance of our transportation systems," said Nutter in his comments on the new surface transportation law.

Recognizing Conference Immediate Past President Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa for his leadership on his America Fast Forward proposal, Nutter said, "Its new financing options will help ensure more jobs are created and our economy grows."

The final legislation, "Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century," authorizes about $40.6 billion annually in highway funding and about $10.65 billion annually in transit funding through fiscal year 2014 and replaces the SAFETEA-LU law, which was enacted in 2005 and first expired September 30, 2009.

President Barack Obama signed the measure into law (P.L. 111-141) at a July 6 signing ceremony, where Villaraigosa and other Conference of Mayors leaders took part. "I'm very appreciative of the hard work that Congress has done on it. My hope is that this bipartisan spirit spills over into the next phase, that we can start putting more construction workers back to work – not just those that were already on existing projects who were threatened to be laid off, but also getting some new projects done that are vitally important to communities all across the nation and that will improve our economy, as well as making sure that now that we've prevented a doubling of student loan rates, we actually start doing more to reduce the debt burden that our young people are experiencing," he said.

Obama renewed his call to Congress to act on his nation-building initiative, a proposal that allocates a portion of the savings from ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to investment in infrastructure. "And for months, I've been calling on Congress to take half the money we're no longer spending on war and use it to do some nation-building here at home. There's work to be done building roads and bridges and wireless networks. There are hundreds of thousands of construction workers that are ready to do it."

During his remarks, the President also recognized Villaraigosa and the mayors. "We've got Mayor Villaraigosa and Governor O'Malley here as representatives of organizations of mayors and governors who know how desperate we need to do some of this work."

"The passage of this transportation bill signals that Congress is still able to set aside partisan differences in order to invest in our nation's critical infrastructure. Mayors know first-hand the importance of streets, highways and bridges to economic opportunity. This bill will help ensure that our cities continue on the path of recovery and job creation," said Conference of Mayors Vice President Mesa Mayor Scott Smith, who attended the signing ceremony.

Also at the White House event was the Conference of Mayors Transportation and Communications Committee Chair Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, who applauded the action. "Investing in infrastructure is vital for the long-term economic health and competitiveness of our nation. The approval today of the surface transportation renewal bill by Congress is a major step forward for the country. We must continue to put partisan differences aside and work together to ensure our roads and bridges are in good repair, both for now and the future."

"America Fast Forward is a path-breaking program that will dramatically accelerate transportation projects across the country. The Surface Transportation Bill will preserve two million jobs. With the inclusion of America Fast Forward, it will put close to an additional million Americans to work," said Villaraigosa in his comments on the new law.

"Working in partnership with The U.S. Conference of Mayors, we assembled a broad, bipartisan coalition, including nearly 200 mayors and both the AFL-CIO and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, to bring America Fast Forward to fruition. America Fast Forward expands an existing program – the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) program – to give cities access to low-interest financing with flexible terms for their projects. With America Fast Forward in place, cities across America will be able to speed up the construction of locally funded road and rail projects and get our economy moving again," he said.

In the end, Congressional leaders embraced a strong and continuing funding commitment to public transportation, affirming the bipartisan consensus set forth in the Senate renewal legislation. In authorizing a total of $10.6 billion in transit funding for the new fiscal year, this represents a big victory for mayors, local leaders and others, turning back an earlier House plan that removed all transit funding from the federal trust fund and provided uncertain future funding commitments.

Notably, the new law restructures and consolidates a number of existing transit programs administered by the Federal Transit Administration, and it also streamlines federal review and approval processes for new start and other federally-assisted transit investments, promising to shorten the time needed to initiate and complete projects.

In addition to providing substantially higher investment ($750 million in FY13 and $1 billion in FY14) in the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA), the new law also consolidates numerous highway and safety programs and streamlines the project delivery process, with an emphasis on expanding what qualifies for "categorical exclusions" under the National Environmental Policy Act.

More than 60 programs have been either eliminated or consolidated, structuring federal highway assistance around four "core" formula programs. In reaching an agreement, House and Senate negotiators vigorously debated the fate of the Transportation Enhancements (TE) program, agreeing to reduce the overall funding level for selected TE eligibilities and other related program activities, while allowing state transportation leaders the flexibility to defund one half of the authorized resources. In one gain for local areas, about $400 million will be distributed to local areas for these "other activities," including direct allocations to metropolitan areas of 200,000 or more people, based on population, allowing funds to be used for bicycling and pedestrian facilities, among other eligibilities. While the Bridge Program, first established in 1978, was eliminated, the conferees did include a local government'supported provision that ensures a baseline funding commitment (2009 level) for the repair of "off'system" bridges, which are mostly locally-owned facilities.

In a setback for local areas, the final agreement cuts the share of Surface Transportation Program funding to local areas by 20 percent, reducing the share from 62.5 percent to 50 percent of total funds, although the legislation raises the overall STP funding levels. The Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Program continues at about $2.3 billion annually, but conferees negotiating the final legislation rejected a Senate proposal allocating 50 of these funds directly to local areas.

A number of other provisions related to passenger and freight rail, authorizing the continuation of the TIGER program, parity for commute benefits for parking and commuting, added flexibility to use transit funds for operating costs, and a new federal "Complete Streets" policy, among other provisions, were not included in the final agreement.