Remember those heady days in mid-2009, when Rep. Jim Oberstar (D-MN) introduced an ambitious, half-trillion dollar reauthorization that would transform the country’s infrastructure?
Outgoing Transpo Committee Chair Jim Oberstar got what he wanted: a yearlong extension. (Though he would have preferred a six-year reauthorization.) Image: ##http://areavoices.com/CapitolChat/?blog=56262##Capitol Chatter##
What the House passed last night, as part of the continuing resolution that will keep the government running at current spending levels through the end of the fiscal year, was no transformational piece of legislation. Instead, it was a “clean” extension of the transportation bill with very few changes to the current spending levels. The current extension was set to expire at the end of the year.
An extension of current programs and funding levels is a far cry from my preferred approach to addressing the nation’s growing surface transportation challenges. Meeting the overall needs of the system and developing a 21st Century surface transportation network worthy of being passed on to future generations can only be accomplished through the passage of a robust and transformational long-term surface transportation authorization act.
However, extending these programs through the end of the fiscal year will provide States, localities, and public transit agencies with the degree of certainty necessary to move forward with their capital programs while Congress continues to work toward passage of a long-term surface transportation authorization bill.
The bill rescinds unobligated earmark money, saving, according to Oberstar, $600 million. And some earmarked funds that “disproportionately benefited” certain highway programs will be redistributed to others, including recreational trails, Safe Routes to School, and metropolitan planning programs.
Transportation for America expressed its support for the extension, saying it allows states and localities to move forward with pending projects and gives the House time to craft a long-term reauthorization. T4A did note, “We were disappointed to see the House stifle the development of high-speed rail by cutting of $1.5 billion. We urge the Senate to restore that funding.”
Committee officials say all funding levels are the same as last year.
An extension was clearly necessary to keep the system from grinding to a halt December 31. Rep. John Mica, incoming committee chair, wanted a shorter one. But this yearlong extension effectively takes the transportation authorization out of the hands of the Republicans, at least for now. By the time this extension expires, the presidential campaign season will be upon us, and a meaty, long-term bill will become less likely.
Tanya became Streetsblog's Capitol Hill editor in September 2010 after covering Congress for Pacifica Radios Washington bureau and for public radio stations around the country. She lives car-free in a transit-oriented and bike-friendly neighborhood of Washington, DC.
Delivery vans and trucks are responsible for nearly a third of urban emissions, and a lot of congestion and traffic violence, too. Here's how cities can replace many of them with clean, safe cargo bikes.
Santa Monica's recently completed 17th Street bikeway improvements have a "region leading design" featuring Southern California's first protected "Dutch-style" intersections, plus concrete curb protection, and makes great connections to the city's growing bikeway network.