Infrastructure in the News: February 1, 2012

BAF IN THE NEWS

Governing: Rendell Calls For Infrastructure Investment
http://www.governing.com/news/federal/gov-rendell-calls-for-infrastructu...
“We are truly falling apart and falling behind,” said Rendell, speaking at a Governing's Outlook in the States and Localities Conference on Tuesday. Rendell is a co-chair of Building America's Future Educational Fund, a bipartisan group that promotes infrastructure investment.

Port Strategy: The US becomes less pleasing
http://www.portstrategy.com/features101/finance-and-investment/port-lead......
A maritime coalition called Building America's Future Education Fund says the situation is now so serious that the World Economic Forum ranks the US 22nd in the world in quality of port infrastructure and 15th in the national network of roads, rail and bridges. A startling claim made by the coalition is that the 59 busiest ports in the US are only operable 35% of the time. This needs to be put into context, as it means that the maximum channel dimensions are only available 35% of the time – silt and debris limit navigability the rest of the time.

NATIONAL NEWS

Politico: Transportation bill throws bones to GOP base
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0112/72254.html
House Republicans on Tuesday introduced a giant new surface transportation bill loaded with goodies for the GOP base. No earmarks, drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, cutting Amtrak’s budget, forcing approval of the Keystone XL pipeline and ending mandatory spending on bicycle and pedestrian paths — what’s a diehard Republican not to like? House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.) and more than a dozen GOP committee members held a Tuesday press conference to sell the bill.

The Hill: GOP goes on offense with $260B highway bill
http://thehill.com/blogs/transportation-report/infrastructure/207811-gop...
House Republicans teed up an election-year battle over jobs Tuesday, unveiling a $260 billion transportation bill designed to put Democrats on the defensive. The package from House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.) would spend $260 billion over five years on road and transit projects — funding that Democrats and President Obama have long championed as stimulus for the economy.

DC Streetsblog: House Transportation Bill Officially Drops, Lands With a Thud
http://dc.streetsblog.org/2012/01/31/house-transportation-bill-officiall...
John Mica, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, officially unveiled his committee’s transportation bill, the “American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act,” at a press conference outside the House wing of the Capitol this afternoon. Streetsblog wrote about some of the bill’s low points last week: no more dedicated bike/ped funding; no more TIGER or other discretionary transit programs; more money for highways, less accountability for state DOTs. To top it off, Speaker John Boehner has made it a priority to attach the Keystone XL pipeline to the transportation bill somehow.

Bloomberg Businessweek: Congress Faces Road Funding ‘Day of Reckoning’ Before Election
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-02-01/congress-faces-road-funding-...
The Highway Trust Fund, which finances U.S. road, bridge and mass-transit projects, may become insolvent just before the November presidential election unless lawmakers lock in additional funding sources. The fund, which reimburses states for transportation projects, would be unable to meet its financial obligations as soon as October, according to an analysis of Congressional Budget Office data by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. The federal government could have to ration payments to the states to keep the fund solvent, according to the CBO.

The Hill: CBO reports highway trust fund headed for bankruptcy in 2014
http://thehill.com/blogs/transportation-report/highways-bridges-and-road...
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said a Congressional Budget Office report that the highway trust fund would be empty by fiscal year 2014 shows President Obama has been right to call for increased funding for transportation projects. The CBO released a report Tuesday that predicted the deficit will rise to $1.08 trillion in 2012. Under its calculations, the highway trust fund, which funds road projects using collections from the federal gas tax, will be running on empty just two years after that.

US DOT: U.S. Transportation Secretary LaHood Announces Fourth Round of Funding Under Highly Successful TIGER Program
http://www.dot.gov/affairs/2012/dot1312.html
Following President Obama's call in his State of the Union address for greater infrastructure investment as part of “An America Built to Last,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced the availability of funding for transportation projects under a fourth round of the popular TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) Discretionary Grant program.  TIGER 2012 will make $500 million available for surface transportation projects having a significant impact on the nation, a metropolitan area, or region.

STATE NEWS

The Planning Report: Reinventing Los Angeles: Seizing the Transit Opportunity
http://www.planningreport.com/2012/01/31/reinventing-los-angeles-seizing...
Every half century or so, Los Angeles reinvents itself around its transportation system. In the early 20th century, an extensive streetcar system focused energy in downtown Los Angeles and led to development of streetcar suburbs throughout the city. In the post-World War II era, the freeway system fostered large-scale suburbanization, cementing Los Angeles’ image as a city of “sprawl.” Today, an unprecedented investment in transit, through the 2008 passage of Measure R, a half-cent sales tax, gives Los Angeles the opportunity to reinvent itself once again.

The Baltimore Sun: The cost of transportation
http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2012-01-31/news/bs-ed-gas-tax-20120131_...
When Gov. Martin O'Malley gives his annual State of the State address Wednesday, he will officially unveil his plan to apply a 6 percent sales tax to gasoline. The public's mood about gas prices being what it is, the governor probably shouldn't expect huge applause — despite the fact he deserves it. Maryland hasn't raised the gasoline tax since William Donald Schaefer was governor two decades ago, and the current rate — applied as a 23.5-cent charge per gallon — has been rendered insufficient by inflation. The state faces tens of billions of dollars of unmet highway, bridge, transit, port and other transportation needs, but its Transportation Trust Fund has little more than enough for basic maintenance.