by Adam Snider
ARE EXTENSIONS THE NEW NORM? MT polled a number of plugged-in sources and industry players on transportation policy extensions: Are they “routine” or have they fallen prey to partisan politics? More responses follow — and thanks to those who weighed in. Apologies for not being able to print them all.
The most interesting thought came from a 30-something industry source who pointed out that us younger transport-lovers (Adam is the eldest MT writer at the ripe old age of 32) have “actually never witnessed how things are supposed to work the way they're intended to.”
“All we (or at least me) have known is chronic inability to get things done on time, and increasingly, it seems, to get things done right. The frightening thing is that the system really does appear to be slowly imploding, as I keep hearing from folks who've seen it all that they've seen nothing like what we see now.”
Mort Downey, former deputy transport secretary: “I think it’s more a condition of the Congress as it now operates than necessarily the transportation issues. It is a fact of life that the two bodies and the two parties will try and score points as legislation moves. In the current situation, the only things that move are extensions and post office namings, and only the former are the equivalent of earlier-day ‘must pass’ bills. So extensions, whether large (like the debt ceiling) or smaller (like FAA and surface) are going to accumulate the barnacles that used to spread out over a larger universe of legislation.”
John Horsley, AASHTO executive director: “The last extension was essential to give the House and Senate time to actually work out legislation they can send to the president to sign. Multiple short-term extensions make it difficult to impossible for state DOTs to systematically invest the assistance they receive. Uncertainty forces states to scale back some investments, delay others and invest in less-than-optimal projects. Unless a long-term bill is enacted by the end of the calendar year, the highway trust fund may run out of resources.”
Deron Lovaas, NRDC: “No, they aren’t routine — especially in the House, and especially if it entails spending. When it comes to spending bills, the minority that is beholden to the tea party has uncanny leverage; it’s like the extreme tail wagging the big dog (with Speaker Boehner trying to ride the beast somehow).”
Erich Zimmermann, Taxpayers for Common Sense: “It seems as Congress has become more divided along partisan lines and compromise is harder to come by, there is a greater willingness to let parts of the government — or even the entire government in the case of the debt limit increase — hang in the balance or go unfunded for a time in order for one party to win concessions from the other. This brinksmanship includes extension of transportation programs as well. ... Ironically, the current partisan brinksmanship makes it harder to pass reauthorization bills that would make these extensions unnecessary while at the same time making each successive extension more dicey. Kind of a Catch-22 and not sure where it ends.”
Morning Transportation (Politico)
Discussion
Sign Up for Updates
