Truckload Authority - Winter 2014/15

But like Reagle, O’Neill brings up the issue of money.
“I don’t believe we will see one funding mechanism that will be the primary
source for a highway bill,” she said. “I think we will likely see an amalgamation
of sources that help disperse the impact on any one demographic. Truckers
will likely see an increase in the diesel tax because large segments of the
industry have been receptive to that idea, but it won’t be the sole source.”
Heather Caygle, who reports on transportation issues for Politico Pro-
Transportation, said finding the money will be a tough sell.
“A broad range of infrastructure advocates are hopeful that lawmakers will
take a bold step by approving both a long-term policy bill and the roughly $100
billion needed to fund it,” Caygle wrote in a post-election report. “But that’s a
tough sell, and time is limited. Members have until the end of May to approve
either an ambitious plan or to ‘plus-up’ the trust fund and pass another policy
extension. A number of lawmakers and transportation watchers say tax reform
is the best bet on the funding side of the equation, but there are several big
political hurdles in the way, and even if tax reform happens, you can bet that
transportation won’t be the only area clamoring for a slice of the money pie.”
Reagle said tax reform as a source of money for the Highway Trust Fund
would be a by-product of a Republican-led Congress, but that lawmakers
would be reluctant to increase the federal tax on diesel and gasoline, the option
most trucking industry stakeholders believe is the best way to come up
with that $100 billion.
“Republicans are opposed to tax increases, so you would have to present
it as something other than a gas tax increase and I don’t know if that’s possible,”
Reagle said. “One of the things I’ve heard from experts is that the highway
bill may be tied to tax reform. I think there will be a growing desire to do
tax reform. That issue is important to anybody in business and in particularly
the trucking industry. If you compare our tax rate for business to the rest of the
world, we pay much higher business taxes than anybody else.”
Americans seem to agree with Republicans.
A recent survey commissioned by the American Trucking Associations
showed that only 29 percent of Americans favor raising federal taxes on gas
and diesel by 5 cents a year every other year for the next eight years.
There’s one other ambitious, and probably controversial, solution to solving
the trust fund shortfall.
It’s called devolution.
“There is a small group of GOP senators who want to devolve the program
and say the purpose of the highway bill was to build the infrastructure and
now it’s time to turn it back to the states,” Reagle said. “That discussion has
been there forever, but I’m hearing it a little more loudly than in the past, so
we have to mix that issue into the equation as well. It’s a very small group but
it’s very vocal.”
Regardless of the funding bill’s final language, Shuster promised accountability
to the American public.
“Congress has not yet reached agreement on how to fund the Highway
Trust Fund and our surface transportation infrastructure into the future,” he
said. “While any such proposals in the House would originate in the Ways
and Means Committee, I will work with incoming Chairman Paul Ryan, House
leadership, and others to try to identify the most fiscally responsible and effective
solutions to addressing our needs.”
The makeup of Shuster’s committee for the 114th Congress had not been
finalized by early December, but it will be quite different than the 113th T and
I Committee.
Several current members were defeated for re-election, some retired, a
few left to run for other offices and there will be more Republican members
because the GOP gained more seats in the House.
The biggest change is at the leadership level, where DeFazio takes over
the ranking member position following the defeat of current ranking member
Rahall of West Virginia, who lost his bid for a 20th term.
Gaygle and Adam Snider, also who reports for Politico Pro-Transportation,
said DeFazio, known for his fiery temperament (he was the most vocal opponent
of the trucking cross-border demonstration project and led the fight to
kill the first pilot project in 2009), will play a significant role in negotiations for a
new highway bill, trying to ensure that at least some Democratic priorities are
included in any long-term bill.
“Unlike Rahall, DeFazio represents a district that is safely Democratic and
his priorities as ranking member could reflect that,” Caygle and Snider wrote.
“He’s also been known to vocally clash with Republicans and won’t be shy if
there are things he doesn’t like in a GOP-led transportation bill.”
On the need for a long-term highway bill, DeFazio has taken a strong
stance.
“For far too long, Congress has taken the easy way out when it comes to
investing in our nation’s transportation infrastructure, relying on short-term
patches for long-standing problems,” he said shortly after being chosen as
ranking member. “But we can’t afford to merely kick the can down the road
yet again. We are approaching a critical juncture concerning transportation
issues in our country.
“Millions of American jobs are directly tied to infrastructure and it’s not acceptable
to keep shortchanging future generations by allowing the American
TCA 2014-15 www.Truckload.org | Truckload Authority