Dear CAGTC Members,
It has been an eventful week for infrastructure on Capitol Hill. In addition to the announcement of the House Democrats’ infrastructure policy framework, both the House and Senate held hearings to discuss transportation policy principles. Please find attached the summaries of relevant conversation from each hearing and a few key points below.
On January 29, the House Ways & Means Committee held a hearing titled, “Paving the Way for Funding and Financing Infrastructure Investments.” Witnesses on the panel included: Joung Lee, Director of Policy and Government Relations, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials; Dr. Philip Fischer, Founder, eBooleant Consulting LLC, and Former Head of Fixed Income and Municipal Bond Strategy, Global Banking & Markets, Bank of America Merrill Lynch; Laura L. Canter, Executive Vice President and Division Director of the Finance Programs Division, Massachusetts Development Finance Agency; Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti, Commissioner, New Jersey Department of Transportation; and DJ Gribbin, Founder, Madrus LLC.
The full summary can be found here. A few main takeaways from the hearing:
- Several funding/financing mechanisms were discussed, including: a gas tax increase, VMT fee, freight VMT fee, and expanded access to TIFIA, private activity bonds, and public-private partnerships. Members of Congress were divided along party lines with most Democrats supporting gas tax increases and potentially VMT fees in the future and the majority of Republicans opposing tax increases and favoring state and local revenue increases, VMT fees, financing tools, and P3s. All witnesses supported increasing the gas tax and/or indexing it to inflation;
- Ranking Member Brady (R-TX) suggested expanded use of the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund by allowing ports to use 50 percent of user fees on multimodal investments;
- Some Republican Members questioned the current 80 percent highway/ 20 percent transit split of the Highway Trust Fund, calling for the transit portion to be decreased or eliminated.
A full video of the hearing and all witness testimonies can be found here.
On January 28 the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Transportation and Safety held a hearing titled, “Building Infrastructure in America: Overview of the Build America Bureau and the U.S. Department of Transportation Rural Transportation Initiatives.” Witnesses on the panel included: The Honorable Joel Szabat, Acting Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy, U.S. Department of Transportation; Dr. Morteza Farajian, Executive Director, Build America Bureau, U.S. Department of Transportation; and Mr. John McCarthy, Co-Chair, The Northwest Seaport Alliance.
Please find a summary of relevant conversation from the hearing here, with a few key takeaways below:
- Senators and witnesses emphasized the importance of increased access to federal infrastructure funding and financing opportunities for rural communities;
- Mr. Szabat appeared open to lifting or expanding the multimodal cap on INFRA funding, though he stated the Administration does not have an official position on the issue;
- Senators and witnesses discussed the need for additional investments in port facilities to adapt to larger vessels and growing freight volumes, citing these investments will enhance economic development and competitiveness.
A full video of the hearing and all witness testimonies can be found here.
Thank you,
Cecile
Cecile Entleitner
Manager, Member Communications & Policy
Coalition for America’s Gateways and Trade Corridors
1625 K Street NW
Suite 1100
Washington, DC 20006
tradecorridors.org
(202) 828-9100