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Hank Seaton

Oberstar: Federal highway funding in jeopardy

By CCJ Staff

Published March, 01 2010

The U.S. Senate’s failure to overcome the objections of a single Republican senator meant funding for federal highway, transit and highway safety programs was set to run out at midnight Sunday, Feb. 28, Congressman Jim Oberstar said Friday, Feb. 26.
Oberstar – who is chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure – said the expiration also may force employee layoffs at the U.S. Department of Transportation, including the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Federal Highway Administration, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Research and Innovative Technology Administration.
The current surface transportation authorization act – the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient, Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) – was due to expire Sept. 30, 2009, but has been kept alive by a series of extensions while Congress considers a replacement authorization bill. The latest extension expired Sunday, Feb. 28.
“I find it outrageous that one senator can kill a piece of legislation and cause chaos for our cities and states,” said Oberstar, referring to Sen. James Bunning (R-Ky.). The Senate adjourned Friday, Feb. 26, without approving cash and health insurance benefit extensions for the unemployed after Bunning insisted that Congress first pay for the $10 billion package. The highway funding is part of the jobs bill.
“There are going to be other bills brought to this floor that are not going to be paid for, and I’m going to object every time they do it,” Bunning said on the Senate floor. “… At the present level of debt and if the present administration’s budget is passed, the debt of the United States will be unsustainable. ‘Unsustainable’ to me means that there is a chance of one of the rating agencies downgrading the rating on our debt. We cannot allow that to happen.”
A different bill pending in the House would extend SAFETEA-LU through the end of 2010; that bill may come up for a vote as early as Tuesday, March 2, and it is possible that the employees would not be furloughed if there is assurance that enactment of a funding bill is imminent.
In the meantime, states may have to suspend work on some road and bridge projects while they wait for their reimbursement payments from the federal government.
DOT said that it will furlough nearly 2,000 employees without pay starting today, March 1, temporarily shutting down highway reimbursements to states worth hundreds of millions of dollars, national anti-drunk driving efforts and multimillion dollar construction projects across the country.
“As American families are struggling in tough economic times, I am keenly disappointed that political games are putting a stop to important construction projects around the country,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “This means that construction workers will be sent home from jobsites because federal inspectors must be furloughed.”
NHTSA said the furloughs will disrupt safety programs that operate in partnership with the states and advocacy groups, such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP).
Assistance to consumers whose goods are held hostage by rogue moving companies will be unavailable during this period. And work addressing texting while driving for commercial truck and bus drivers, electronic onboard recorders and hours of service also will be suspended.
The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials said the federal reimbursements of funds already expended by the states amount to roughly $800 million a week; FTA, NHTSA and FMCSA also would suspend payments, according to AASHTO.
“We are deeply concerned about the severe impacts to state and local transportation programs of this disruption of the federal highway and transit programs,” said John Horsley, AASHTO executive director. “We commend Chairman Oberstar, (House) Speaker (Nancy) Pelosi, and (Senate) Majority Leader (Harry) Reid for reaching an agreement that will enable the House to pass the Senate version of an extension of the highway and transit programs, with the understanding that a later legislative fix will revise how highway discretionary funds are to be distributed. We hope Congress can move this legislation as early in the week as possible so reimbursements to the states can resume.”

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Article printed from Commercial Carrier Journal: http://www.ccjdigital.com

URL to article: http://www.ccjdigital.com/oberstar-federal-highway-funding-will-run-out-at-midnight-sunday/

Reprinted from CCJ Digital.