WASHINGTON, D.C.—Congressmen Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) and John Katko (R-N.Y.) are calling on House and Senate leadership to release billions of dollars for much-needed infrastructure improvements across the country.
Funding created by the historic Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) remains blocked by delays in the annual FY2022 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development appropriations process.
“Our nation’s infrastructure is failing, and it is essential that the IIJA is implemented efficiently and effectively,” Moulton and Katko wrote in a letter sent today to the Democratic and Republican leaders of the House and Senate. “Without immediate action by the House and Senate, our state and local partners face continued uncertainty on how and when they can leverage IIJA to advance important projects.”
The letter was signed by 55 Members of Congress and endorsed by 49 organizations representing the transportation sector, labor unions, safety and environmental advocates, and the business community.
Under the current continuing resolution, new funding for highways, public transportation, carbon reduction programs, and other critical infrastructure investments is limited to lower, previously designated funding levels. Additionally, the Department of Transportation is blocked from implementing new programs.
Full text of the letter is below.
Dear Speaker Pelosi and Leaders McCarthy, Schumer, and McConnell:
As bipartisan supporters of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), we urge the House and Senate to promptly complete work on the annual Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (T-HUD) appropriations bill for Fiscal Year (FY) 2022. The IIJA will enable historic federal funding for our nation’s crumbling infrastructure. However, the current Continuing Resolution (CR), which extends the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act authorized spending levels, continues to impede full implementation by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). Failure to provide timely appropriations for these investments further delays critical work in our districts and impacts the lives and livelihoods of our constituents.
The CR constrains DOT and our state departments of transportation to the obligation limitation levels set forth in the FAST Act. As a result, federal expenditures for significant portions of our highway, transit, and highway safety programs follow the FY 2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act, rather than the new levels authorized in the IIJA. For example, under IIJA, core highway program funding has increased to $58 billion and public transportation program funding to $13 billion. However, each of these programs currently has an obligation limitation of $46 billion and $10 billion, respectively, as a result of the ongoing CR.
Additionally, the CR prevents DOT from implementing new programs created in the IIJA law under a “no New Starts” provision. This amounts to billions of dollars of infrastructure improvements that remain in limbo, including the new Carbon Reduction Program. Without further Congressional action, bipartisan, bicameral priorities approved by Congress and the Biden Administration will become casualties of these delays.
The passage of IIJA was a significant legislative feat, but delays in the FY22 appropriations process will prevent Americans from reaping the benefits of these critical investments. Our nation’s infrastructure is failing, and it is essential that the IIJA is implemented efficiently and effectively. Without immediate action by the House and Senate, our state and local partners face continued uncertainty on how and when they can leverage IIJA to advance important projects. We therefore urge swift passage of the FY 2022 T-HUD Appropriations bill.
Thank you for your consideration of this request.
Respectfully,
Signatories (55): Seth Moulton, John Katko, Karen Bass, Brian Fitzpatrick, Thomas Suozzi, Don Young, Carolyn Bourdeaux, Andrew Garbarino, Madeleine Dean, Fred Upton, Salud Carbajal, Sharice Davids, Anthony Brown, Susan Wild, Debbie Dingell, Chrissy Houlahan, Joseph Morelle, Kurt Schrader, Julia Brownley, Dean Phillips, Elissa Slotkin, Shontel Brown, Ro Khanna, Mike Levin, Veronica Escobar, Jim Costa, Bill Foster, Sean Casten, Ted Lieu, Jesús García, André Carson, Josh Gottheimer, Angie Craig, Scott Peters, Brendan Boyle, Mikie Sherrill, Paul Tonko, Haley Stevens, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Rick Larsen, Nikema Williams, Jake Auchincloss, Jimmy Panetta, Mark DeSaulnier, Juan Vargas, Albio Sires, Jerrold Nadler, Dina Titus, Henry Johnson, Stephen Lynch, Kathy Manning, Ann McLane Kuster, Marilyn Strickland, Jamie Raskin, David Cicilline
Endorsers (49): American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials; American Bus Association; American Coal Ash Association; American Concrete Pavement Association; American Concrete Pipe Association; American Concrete Pumping Association; American Council of Engineering Companies; American Foundry Society; American Highway Users Alliance; American Institute of Steel Construction; American Public Transportation Association; American Public Works Association; American Road and Transportation Builders Association; American Subcontractors Association; Associated Equipment Distributors; Associated General Contractors of America; Association of Equipment Manufacturers; Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute; Design-Build Institute of America; Finishing Contractors Association International; Government Finance Officers Associations; Governors Highway Safety Association; HNTB; Institute of Transportation Engineers; Intelligent Transportation Society of America; International City/County Management Association; Laborers International Union of North America; League of American Bicyclists; MassBike; Metropolitan Area Planning Council; National Association of Counties; National Association of County Engineers; National Conference of Firemen and Oilers; National League of Cities; National Ready Mixed Concrete Association; National Steel Bridge Alliance; National Stone, Sand, and Gravel Association; National Utility Contractors Association; Portland Cement Association; Rail Passengers Association; Safe Routes Partnership; Sierra Club; The Bus Coalition; Tire Industry Association; Titan Freight Systems; TransitMatters; Transportation for Massachusetts; U.S. Chamber of Commerce; WalkBoston
Senior Democrats in Congress are weighing whether to temporarily suspend the federal gasoline tax in an effort to address soaring gas prices. The Gas Price Relief Act (S. 3609) was just introduced by Sens. Mark Kelly of Arizona and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire.
It would suspend the gas tax through January 2023 the federal gasoline tax of roughly 18¢ per gallon. To offset the lost tax revenue in the interim, the bill would require the Treasury Department to transfer general fund money into the Highway Trust Fund to keep it solvent. According to the nonprofit Committee for Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) about $20 billion would be lost from the Highway trust fund which helps cover highway construction projects and public transit.
The bill most likely is an uphill battle but is gaining momentum and has already added co-sponsors: Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) and Jackie Rosen (D-Nev.). Republicans in the House and Senate are in opposition.
TIA is concerned that this bill will only further weaken the federal Highway Trust Fund and is shortsighted, since the gasoline excise tax is helping to pay for the historic “Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA)” just passed in November of last year.
TIA has signed onto a American Highway Users Alliance coalition letter in opposition to the proposal:
Dear Senators:
We write in strong opposition to S. 3609, the “Gas Prices Relief Act of 2022.” This bill will only further weaken the federal Highway Trust Fund and is shortsighted, since the gasoline excise tax is helping to pay for the historic “Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA)” just passed in November of last year.
While we understand the pain Americans are feeling at the pump and throughout the economy due to rising inflation, a gas tax holiday is not the answer to this problem. Federal motor fuel taxes are applied at the wholesale level. Notwithstanding an intention that any savings be passed on, there is no guarantee that reducing the federal tax by 18.4 cents per gallon will result in an 18.4 cent reduction when drivers fill their tanks. There are many factors at play that will impact the price the consumer pays at the pump, including the cost of producing a barrel of oil. These costs fluctuate daily.
Additionally, this policy sets a concerning course that will further deteriorate the user pays system that traditionally has funded our roadways. The Highway Trust Fund has been insolvent since 2008, and that insolvency has resulted in general fund transfers to support the trust fund since that date totaling over $270 billion. We believe in the user fee-based system and strongly support asking motorists to pay for the roads that they use every day. As members of Congress and stakeholders struggle to find a way to address the long-term solvency of the Highway Trust Fund, advancing policies that take us in the opposite direction are shortsighted and counterproductive. We do appreciate that the bill includes a General Fund transfer to make up for the loss of the proposed gas tax holiday. But negotiating the pay-fors for the IIJA was painstaking and required a delicate balance. If this bill is enacted it further depletes the trust in the Highway Trust Fund and results in more General Funds going to pay for something that the users of the system want to support.
This policy, if enacted, could set the dangerous precedent that during times of economic strife, a gas tax holiday is the solution, even though it will lead to little if any direct benefit to the driver. This path could result in diluting the single largest contributor to the Highway Trust Fund.
The cost of this law if enacted in March would be roughly $20 billion. That means $20 billion in user fee dollars not deposited into the Highway Trust Fund and $20 billion more General Fund dollars flowing out of the coffers.
We urge opposition to a proposal that will do little to provide the average citizen relief at the pump but will do lasting damage to a Highway Trust Fund that provides critical revenue for investment in our roadways and bridges. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Tire Industry Association & American Highway Users Alliance