Republican House Rules Not a Good Start

On Tuesday, House Republicans approved new rules for the 112th Congress. If their action on the rules is any indication of things to come; the transportation industry and, by extension, the entire country is in for a rocky ride. The new rules change a rule enacted in 1998 under a Republican-controlled Congress providing all funds collected for the Highway Trust Fund are not only collected but spent for transportation purposes as intended. The actual rule change is as follows,
“(4) Highway Funding.—In rule XXI, amend clause 3 to read as follows:
“3. It shall not be in order to consider a bill, joint resolution, or conference report that—
“(a) provides spending authority derived from receipts deposited in the Highway Trust Fund (excluding any transfers from the General Fund of the Treasury);”
This is not exactly easy reading but to those of us involved in transportation we immediately knew the problem. These rules were proposed between Christmas and New Year’s when it was virtually impossible to reach members, particularly new members, of Congress. Despite the timing there was a huge outpouring of objection from state DOT’s, The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, labor unions and industry trade groups.
Prior to 1998 Congress had a habit of not spending all gas tax dollars collected for the Trust Fund. These unspent funds were used in a strange “smoke and mirrors” game to help balance the budget. It appears we are again headed in that direction.
I have never been in favor of transportation funding coming from general revenue, subject to the yearly whims of Congress. I do believe all gas tax dollars collected should go to fund transportation. For years it has been clear that gas tax revenues could not sustain the level of funding established by Congress. Once the surplus in the fund was spent down the trust fund was “bailed out” with infusions from general revenue. This “bail out” was necessary because Congress was unwilling to consider an increase in the gas tax. They ignored all warnings that the trust fund would go bust. Congress simply kicked the revenue issue down the road to a future Congress (sound familiar?) while at the same time being unwilling to cut necessary infrastructure spending.
Why not consider funding only highways from the Highway Trust Fund? The Trust Fund’s revenue source is the gas tax – paid for by cars and trucks using the nation’s highways. That in no way means we abandon public transportation. There is a definite need to fund public transportation and funding that from general revenue makes perfect sense. Public transportation should even be given a defined source of revenue from within general revenue and their own trust fund. Highway construction, however, needs long term certainty for funding projects. They cannot rely on year to year funding from Congress. We need the knowledge that all gas tax funds collected will be spent. Otherwise, states will not be able to fully program federal funds.
I applaud the Republican majority and their interest to get government spending under control. Our national debt is the biggest problem facing the country. If you listen to the new Congressional leadership you continually hear a general refrain that we need to bring spending under control. I don’t hear any specific plans to cut major spending, particularly entitlements. The House leadership rejected the proposals from the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. To date, efforts such as cutting office budgets by 5 percent or holding back a small portion of Highway Trust Fund revenues are not getting to the problem. It is similar to worrying about a mouse in the room when a herd of elephants is taking dead aim at you.
Not spending dollars collected for the purpose of funding much needed transportation projects is flat out wrong. It is one more example of breaking trust with the people. Let’s hope our House leaders reconsider.