Republicans’ incoming Senate majority could stall a repeat effort to boost transportation and infrastructure spending, which had been hiked by billions of dollars in the previous funding cycle.
The surface transportation reauthorization bill in 2021 became the so-called bipartisan infrastructure law when $550 billion in new spending was added for roads, bridges and public transportation. Although 19 Senate Republicans voted for it, President-elect Donald Trump’s stated intention to scale back the government could mean lower funding levels the next time around.
“It remains to be seen if the next bill will be a capital ‘I’ infrastructure bill or a surface transportation reauthorization bill,” Susan Howard, director of policy and government relations at the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, said in August at a state legislative summit. “You probably would get different answers across the spectrum from folks on that, but I think we don’t quite know yet what that focus will be.”
The surface transportation bill normally authorizes budget authority for federal aid highway programs, extends the Highway Trust Fund and sometimes includes advance appropriations and other policies.
The 2021 infrastructure law greatly expanded its scope to include billions in advance funding for transportation and infrastructure programs. It also included provisions to boost climate resiliency and support projects that would reduce transportation sector emissions.
With the current law expiring in 2026, negotiations for the next reauthorization could begin as soon as next year for the new committee leaders.
Rail projects, highway shortfall
Multiple Senate panels have jurisdiction.
The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee has say over major surface transportation agencies, like the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Federal Railroad Administration and Amtrak, while the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee holds jurisdiction over the Federal Highway Administration and highway and bridge infrastructure programs.
The bill negotiations also involve the Senate Banking Committee, which has jurisdiction over public transit programs, and the Senate Finance Committee, which is tasked with figuring out how to pay for the bill.
In the Commerce Committee, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is set take over as chairman next year. If his record is any indication, he won’t be supporting broadened infrastructure spending.
Cruz voted against the 2021 infrastructure law and has decried the pace of the energy transition away from fossil fuels. He was the leading voice in the effort to oust Biden’s acting head of NHTSA, Ann Carlson, calling her a “radical environmentalist” who was distracting the agency’s primary focus on safety.
As the panel’s ranking member, Cruz has questioned the use of taxpayer money for Amtrak and high-speed rail projects. He accused the Biden administration of favoring the Northeast Corridor when doling out funds and spoke against Amtrak employees receiving bonuses despite the federally chartered corporation’s net losses.
Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., who is poised to take over the Senate Banking Committee, also voted against the infrastructure law. He has opposed Democrats’ climate agenda and suggested that public transit systems need “local solutions.”
“I spent half my career in politics on the local level, understanding and appreciating transit systems, infrastructure projects, and what it takes to get those things done,” he said in a July hearing. “Washington has poorly imposed onerous burdens on local governments because 535 people seem confident they know everything about local needs yet achieve little progress.”
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., is prepared to take over the gavel on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Unlike Cruz and Scott, she was among the 19 Republicans who voted for the infrastructure bill and helped negotiate it.
She said in a statement at the signing of 2021 law that she was “especially proud” that the surface transportation reauthorization bill served as its foundation.
But Capito has criticized the way the Biden administration has implemented it. She was a lead co-sponsor for a Congressional Review Act resolution that aims to undo the emissions performance measures being imposed on state transportation departments and metropolitan planning organizations. The Biden administration cited authority to require performance measures in the infrastructure law.
Sen. Michael D. Crapo, R-Idaho, is set to take the Senate Finance Committee chair. Crapo voted for the 2021 infrastructure law and touted the bill’s funding for Idaho roadway and water infrastructure needs.
But Crapo may have to focus on a solution for the Highway Trust Fund, which relies on a gas tax to pay for infrastructure projects, as increasing vehicle fuel efficiency eats at the fund’s revenue.
To cover past shortfalls, lawmakers have transferred $275 billion since 2008, mostly from the Treasury’s general fund, the Congressional Budget Office reported last year. That includes $118 billion from the general fund via the 2021 infrastructure law. CBO projected that without a solution, balances in the Highway Trust Fund accounts will be exhausted by 2028.
“There have been many changes to the transportation landscape since Congress last raised the gas tax in 1993, such as increased fuel efficiency and a significant increase in electric vehicles, or EVs, on the road,” Crapo said in 2021. “To make up the projected $195 billion 10-year shortfall of the Highway Trust Fund, Congress needs to think creatively of ways to ensure EVs are paying in their fair share.”
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