Published 11 Sep, 2011
An unlikely trio, the president of the AFL-CIO, the president of the Chamber of Commerce and the President of the United States of America last month stood in the White House Rose Garden and called for the reauthorization of the Surface Transportation Act. President Obama again drew the link between transportation and jobs this past Thursday in his speech before a joint session of Congress.
The big question is, will Congress join the trio and a growing chorus across the country who believe that economic growth and employment are dependent on the transportation bill being reauthorized by the September 30th deadline, or will they instead do to ground transportation what they did to the last FAA extension and cause government dollars to stop flowing and thousands to be thrown out of work?
Sadly, Rep. John Mica, who chairs the House’s Transportation Committee, seems committed to clashing with Democrats over the 18.4 cents collected in gas taxes on every gallon of gas — Mica opposes any increase on a tax that has not been increased since 1993. The gas tax also expires on the last day of the month. Will Mica create a highway crash the same way he crashed the FAA?
If it wasn’t so tragic it would be comical. I’ve literally heard Mica on the floor of the House say, “Where are the jobs?” He should know. Many of these jobs are private sector positions in construction and road paving. Some of the gas tax funds also are directed to public transportation jobs. Allowing more of those transit funds to go toward operating costs could further boost employment. Tens of thousands of transit operators and mechanics, along with construction workers, employees of asphalt plants and surveyors eat in restaurants, buy clothes, appliances and cars. Federal transportation dollars travel throughout the economy.
“Historically, studies have shown that for every dollar spent on investments in transportation and infrastructure the gross domestic product grows by $1.59,” according to Rep. Lou Barletta, a Republican member of the House from Scranton, Pennsylvania, in remarks made on the House floor.
In the Senate, Barbara Boxer, Chairwoman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, has proposed a two-year compromise plan that would keep existing funding levels adjusted for inflation. The Boxer plan calls for $109 billion over two-years that would maintain existing funding levels plus $12 billion to cover the gap that the gas taxes leave after inflation.
In stark contrast, Mica has proposed a $230-billion, six-year Surface Transportation Bill that would freeze government spending at less than the $34 billion a year that it now receives from existing FY2011 levels. This would result in the LOSS of 141,000 transit jobs and 360,000 highway jobs.
Congress must act. We need jobs. We need to keep public transit running and to keep the roads and bridges from falling apart.
If Congress does not reauthorize the Surface Transportation Act this month and if they don’t do anything to update the law by allowing a higher percentage of funds to be directed toward public transit operating costs or to adjust the gas tax to account for inflation — they should never say the word “jobs” again.
It’s put up or shut up time.