Operating Engineer - Spring 2014

Politics & Legislation
Transportation Bill Progresses, but Solution Still Miles Away
SENATOR BARBARA BOXER
(D-CA), Chairman of the Senate
Environment and Public Works
Committee, again took a leadership
role in support of the nation’s
transportation system as she navigated
a full six-year highway and transit law
through her committee in May. Both
Republicans and Democrats came
together to support the bipartisan
legislation, which builds on past policy
progress made in MAP-21, the twentyseven
month legislation that expires at
the end of September. The committee
bill includes a bipartisan emphasis on
delivering projects more efficiently
and quickly; focusing the precious
transportation resources where they
are needed most; creating a new freight
program; and investing in a new grant
program to reward cities and states for
project innovation.
In a statement, Sen. Boxer said: “This
job-creating legislation will provide
the long-term certainty that states,
cities, and businesses need…” General
President Callahan agreed, saying,
“Senator Boxer has been a tenacious
fighter for transportation investments.
We appreciate her willingness to reach
across the aisle to develop commonsense
solutions for America’s failing
public infrastructure.”
The legislation still has a long way to
go to become law. Three other Senate
committees must still take action.
Lawmakers must also reach a deal
to raise billions in revenue to resolve
the funding shortfall in the Highway
Trust Fund. The Highway Trust Fund is
primarily funded by deposits from the
gas and diesel taxes. It is projected to
have an annual shortfall in October of
roughly $15 billion a year. Inflation and
increased fuel-efficiency have taken
a toll on revenues. Lawmakers will
need to find $15 billion for every year
the transportation law lasts. While the
gas and diesel tax is by far the largest
revenue source for the Highway Trust
Fund, politicians in Washington have
been unwilling to raise the tax by 15
cents, which would be necessary to fill
the hole.
The current law, MAP-21 (Moving
Ahead for Progress in the 21st
Century), is set to expire on October 1
at the start of the new fiscal year. But
the crisis in the Highway Trust Fund
will hit even before the old law expires.
The Highway Trust Fund is insulated
from other parts of the budget. The
Highway Trust Fund delivers the
federal government’s transportation
funding obligations to states and local
governments. It is scheduled to run
out of money sometime in late July or
early August. Without a solution — at
least a short-term patch of money —
the shortfall could wreak havoc with
State Departments of Transportation
and the whole national transportation
system.
The nation’s transportation
program operates on a system
of reimbursements. As the states
look to the federal government for
reimbursements for money that they
had already given to construction
contractors on federally-approved
projects, the U.S. Department of
Rep. Bill Shuster (R-PA)
Transportation may have no choice
but to temporarily withhold payment,
slowing payments to states, contractors,
and, potentially, to workers.
General President Callahan called
on Congress to waste no time in
building on the Senate committee’s
progress and passing key job-creating
legislation for Operating Engineers.
“This bill employs thousands of us. We
need Congress to do its job, so we can
do ours.”
U.S. Department of Transportation
Secretary Anthony Foxx, has sent
the Administration’s transportation
proposal, the Grow America Act, to
Senator Landrieu Introduces Bill to Build Keystone XL Pipeline
U.S. SENATORS MARY LANDRIEU
(D-LA), the chair of the Senate Energy
and Natural Resources Committee,
and John Hoeven (R-ND), have
introduced legislation that would
immediately authorize TransCanada’s
application with the State Department
to build the Keystone XL pipeline. The
binding bi-partisan bill is cosponsored
by eleven Senate Democrats
and all the Senate Republicans.
On April 18, 2014 the State
Department ruled that they would not
make a decision on the Keystone XL
pipeline until the on-going litigation
in the Nebraska Supreme Court,
surrounding the project, has concluded.
They also stated they wanted to give
federal agencies more time to submit
comments regarding the project. This
means that the State Department will
not make a decision on the project
until the end of the year or early 2015.
On the decision, IUOE General
President Callahan made the following
statement, “After five different
Environmental Impact Statements
and over five years of evaluation, the
Keystone XL pipeline has been the
most exhaustively reviewed pipeline in
history. All of the federal studies have
reached the same conclusion: The
Keystone XL pipeline merits approval.”
Capitol Hill. The legislation would
invest more annually ($302 billion
or roughly $75 billion a year) than
the bipartisan Senate bill. Yet those
investments would be paid for by
reforming the corporate tax structure
– something that most Capitol Hill
watchers believe is not possible. The
legislation would last for four years,
encourage local hiring, and create a
new focus on American rail, including
both freight and passenger rail.
Senator Landrieu understands
the importance of this project and
what it means for the livelihood of
thousands of IUOE members and
Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA)
other construction workers. The
Keystone XL pipeline will move an
essential North American commodity
more safely than other alternatives.
In addition, the pipeline will improve
public safety, enhance American
The House of Representatives
is expected to consider its own
transportation legislation soon.
Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA), House
Transportation and Infrastructure
Committee, has committed to moving
bipartisan legislation in the coming
weeks. Chairman Shuster has also
confirmed that he will attend and speak
at the IUOE Legislative Conference to
be held in Washington, DC, this July.
energy security, reduce environmental
risk, and it will put thousands of
Operating Engineers and other
construction workers back on the job.
The completed 487-mile Gulf Coast
segment of the pipeline involved
more than 11 million hours of labor,
including over 2 million hours of work
performed by members of Operating
Engineers Locals 178, 450 and 627.
The 1,179-mile northern leg
of the pipeline, which the State
Department recently delayed ruling
on, would stretch from Hardisty,
Alberta, to Steele City, Nebraska
and be built under a Project Labor
Agreement. The State Department
conducts the environmental review
and makes recommendations on
a Presidential Permit for projects
that cross international borders.
The needless delay of the Keystone
XL Pipeline has done nothing to
stop the development of Canadian
oil sands. The delay has only served
to prevent IUOE members and
other trades from performing work
that provides for their families.
The Operating Engineers
strongly support this legislation
and applaud Senators Landrieu
and Hoeven for their leadership.
10
INTERNATIONAL OPERATING ENGINEER
SPRING 2014 11