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TRANSACTIONS NEWSLETTER ONLINE

April / May 2008

Bipartisan Panel Urges Federal Transportation Overhaul

Ambitious Goal: Create the World's “Preeminent Surface Transportation System”



Shining a bright and rather sobering spotlight on the nation's passenger and goods-movement transportation network, a 12-member blue-ribbon panel has delivered to Congress a hefty landmark report that calls for bold changes in federal transportation policies, programs, institutions and funding mechanisms.

In its new report, Transportation for Tomorrow, the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission painted a picture of a transportation system at risk of serious decline and urged Congress to increase investment, expand services, repair infrastructure, demand accountability and refocus federal programs while streamlining spending categories from 108 to 10.

Chaired by U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters, this small body with the big name was created by Congress to develop a national transportation vision and formulate recommendations for congressional reauthorization of federal transportation legislation in 2009. MTC Executive Director Steve Heminger is a member of the bipartisan panel, having been appointed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in 2006. The National Commission held public hearings across the country as part of an intensive 20-month study period.

At a hearing of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Chair James Oberstar (D-Minnesota) thanked the commission for its work and offered praise for the Transportation for Tomorrow report, which he compared in significance to the establishment of the Interstate Highway System in the mid-1950s and the passage of the landmark Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act that ushered in the post-Interstate period in 1991.

“This commission's report will in time be seen as the transformational chapter in the transition to a new era of transportation policy for the 21st century,” Oberstar said.

The National Commission presented its Transportation for Tomorrow report at a packed hearing of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

A Clear and Present Challenge

The aim of U.S. transportation policy, according to the National Commission, should be “to create and sustain the preeminent surface transportation system in the world.” But, as the report makes clear, the gap between the present reality and the attainment of that goal is large, and growing.

The report's Executive Summary states: “Conditions on America's surface transportation systems — our roads, bridges and highways, our passenger and freight rail facilities, our public transit networks — are deteriorating. In some cases, the physical infrastructure itself is showing the signs of age. In almost all cases, the operational efficiency of our key transportation assets is slipping.”

Rewriting “The Three Rs”

Declaring that “applying patches to our surface transportation is no longer acceptable,” Transportation for Tomorrow envisions a complete refocusing of the nation's transportation programs while reaffirming a strong overall federal role in this area. The recommendations can be grouped into three Rs:

  • reforming how the nation up- grades and expands its transportation network, from how projects are picked to how they are built;
  • restructuring federal transportation investment programs to concentrate on areas of genuine national interest; and
  • generating new revenue, in part by increasing the federal gas tax and eventually by instituting user fees, and particularly congestion pricing — charging motorists tolls that vary according to traffic levels.

The three Rs are designed to work together to promote a strong- er economy, faster commutes and cleaner air, and to save lives.

The commission was not unanimous in its recommendations; three of its members, including Secretary Peters, issued written dissents. Not surprisingly, the issue of new revenues proved especially controversial for the panel.

“We know that nobody likes the idea of higher fees or taxes,” noted MTC's Heminger. “But our estimates indicated that the United States needs to invest at least $225 billion annually for the next 50 years to improve performance on our transportation network. We are spending less than 40 percent of this amount today.”
— Joe Curley

View the Transportation for Tomorrow report and executive summary here, where you also can watch videos of the press conference and congressional hearing where the report was unveiled.

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