Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Advances Federal
Surface Transportation Reauthorization
On May 15, the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee
approved its MAP-21 reauthorization bill (S 2322). Please visit
the CSAC Housing, Land Use, and Transportation page of the CSAC
website for an analysis on select provisions of the legislation.
Some highlights from the analysis include:
Provides for a long-term, six-year reauthorization and
continues the core structure of MAP 21
Provides a total of $265 billion for highway programs, which
reflects current funding levels with a modest inflationary
adjustment
Leaves to the Senate Finance Committee the task of
identifying $18 billion in annual revenue required to fund the
measure
Without short-term action, the Highway Trust Fund is predicted to
go bankrupt by August and the State, regions, and local
governments should anticipate delays in receive federal
reimbursements
For our part, CSAC has been advocating, in strong partnership
with NACo, on our top priorities for reauthorization.
Specifically, we have requested the restoration of the Highway
Bridge Program as a core program within any reauthorization
measure, but at the very least the creation of a Local Bridge
Program set-aside under the STP, or Surface Transportation
Program (currently the STP only includes a set-aside for local
off-system bridges). In tandem, we are also calling on Congress
to restore equity in funding levels between the core programs
within MAP 21. Attached you will find CSAC’s letter to the Senate
EPW leadership with additional details about these proposals.
S 2322 does make local on-system bridge projects an eligible use
under the National Highway Performance Program (NHPP), with a cap
of 15% of program funds for these projects. While staff is
pleased to see the Senate leadership recognize the importance of
local on-system bridges, this modification falls short of our
goal. As such, we will continue to work with NACo, our Senators
and other Senate allies, and the leadership on the House
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to forward our
proposals.
Looking ahead, it is unclear when S 2322 – which is limited to
the highway title – will be headed to the floor. The current plan
is to do what was done during the last reauthorization cycle,
which is to bundle the bill with the transit, safety, and
financing titles once the three committees with jurisdiction over
these matters have approved their respective bills.
