Update via ITS America

House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee Chairman John Mica, R-Fla., will introduce the committee’s multi-year surface transportation reauthorization proposal tomorrow — Thursday, July 7, at 11 a.m. Eastern time. According to Chairman Mica, the bill will not only reauthorize and reform the nation’s federal highway, transit and highway safety programs, but will also make significant improvements to passenger and freight rail programs and maritime transportation policy. “This fiscally responsible, multi-modal initiative would streamline federal programs, cut red tape, better leverage our federal resources, make wise investments in our infrastructure and create needed jobs for Americans,” according to the Chairman. The rollout event is scheduled to last approximately 90 minutes.  Live video of the event will also be available at www.transportation.house.gov by clicking the “Live Webcasts” link.

Streetsblog Capitol Hill reports that Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee, wants transportation reauthorization bill passed soon in order to avoid the loss of 600,000 jobs in the construction and transit industries. She issued a call to action this morning, pushing for a new bill before the current extension of SAFETEA-LU expires on September 30.   Though she had initially pushed for a six-year bill, Boxer made it official that the EPW proposal is for a two-year bill that will only cover current funding levels plus inflation—about $109 billion over the two years.

At today’s press conference, Boxer focused mostly on the urgency of saving 500,000 construction sector jobs and 100,000 transit jobs, citing new Federal Highway Administration stats about the ramifications if Congress passes Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget, with its 30 percent cuts to transportation. Boxer’s aides pulled out charts detailing just how many jobs would be lost in each state (See Chart here), and Boxer pointed to the over 43,000 that her home state of California would shed. Click here to read the rest on Streetsblog Capitol Hill

Note: And I found this interesting nugget on infrastructure spending on the EPW Press Release. It shows we have a long way to go to match the Chinese: According to a report by the Department of the Treasury and the Council of Economic Advisors, the United States currently spends 2 percent of GDP on infrastructure, a 50 percent decline from 1960. Meanwhile, China is spending close to 9 percent of their GDP on infrastructure.

Update Courtesy: ITS America

As the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee continues to work on finalizing its six-year surface transportation reauthorization bill in anticipation of an early July introduction, Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) has announced plans to introduce the Senate version of the bill during the week of July 11, hold hearings the week of July 18, and is expected to proceed with a Committee mark-up on July 27.  The Senate bill, which is rumored to be a two-year bill instead of six, is expected to face a $12 billion funding shortfall which would require the Senate Finance Committee to come up with additional revenues before the legislation could be passed.  Committee staff continues to craft the bill in a bipartisan fashion with their most recent work focusing on a freight section.  ITS America is working closely with Senate staff to include provisions that would promote greater deployment of ITS.

On the House side, T&I Committee majority staff continues to work on their bill but have provided limited details as to what specific policies and programs will be included.  Speculation continues about the time frame for moving a surface transportation bill through the House, with Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA/7) taking heat for not including the reauthorization bill in a June 10 memo to House Republicans outlining key pieces of legislation that will be debated on the House floor this summer.  The American Road & Transportation Builders Association obtained the memo and has posted the document on its website here.

Meanwhile Congressman Richard Hanna (R-NY/24), Vice-Chair of the Highways and Transit Subcommittee, joined ITS America’s Congressional Roundtable members for breakfast to discuss ITS and the transportation reauthorization bill.  As a businessman who spent nearly three decades in the construction industry before being elected to Congress, Rep. Hanna stressed the need for technology solutions that can help public agencies do ‘more with less’.  The Congressman made note of Portland, Oregon as an example of a city that is investing in ITS to help create a more efficient, user-friendly transportation network, while acknowledging the pressure many agencies face to roll out more visible ‘bricks and mortar’ projects.  He also said the “argument is building daily” for investing in transportation as a means to create jobs and bring down the nation’s high unemployment rate.  Read more about the Congressional Roundtable in the AASHTO Journal.