While Washington is abuzz with repealing Obamacare and reforming the tax code, there’s a lot happening on transportation and infrastructure, even if it is under the radar. President Trump gave considerable attention to prioritizing infrastructure on the campaign trail and called for a plan “that produces a $1 trillion investment” in his recent address to Congress. Now the administration appears to be putting together early plan details, and House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster, R-Penn., indicates he may introduce a package in the summer or early fall for consideration.
How can Republicans in Congress and the White House protect their promises of controlling federal spending while encouraging private investment to meet the country’s infrastructure needs? Here are a few ideas:
Restoring Responsibility in Transportation Spending
The transportation spending policies shepherded by the Obama administration were chock-full of waste and pet projects. Think of the 2009 “stimulus” and all the attendant boondoggles, the main return has been worsening of the nation’s fiscal problems. American families cannot afford to repeat such mistakes.
Prioritize transportation dollars on roads, not roses. A growing percentage of total federal transportation spending is going to non-highway projects, diverting these dollars from their ostensible purpose of building roads and bridges. Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Mo., has sponsored legislation that requires infrastructure dollars to go toward core projects—not on secondary projects like highway beautification and urban public transportation. Cutting the so-called Transportation Alternatives Program would save taxpayers more than $800 million per year.
Return control of non-federal priorities to the states. States, localities, and the private sector understand local needs better than Washington bureaucrats. Local policymakers should have the flexibility to manage projects reflecting local priorities and manage their funding. Federal policymakers can get out of the way by removing existing federal barriers to state-based funding and financing. One possible change would be lifting the prohibition on charging tolls on the interstate highways, so that states and the private sector can get on with the business of improving these vital economic pipelines.
Fully pay for projects over a 10-year window. The spirit of Trump’s first budget request to Congress, the so-called “skinny budget” that cuts domestic discretionary spending, should be applied to future transportation spending initiatives. Future legislation should be fully paid for over the 10-year budget window to ensure taxpayers are protected.
Seek spending reforms and “user pays” models instead of new funding sources. Two early ideas circulating include creating a national infrastructure bank and using new revenues from corporate income repatriated from abroad. Congress should be weary of both. The first would lead to more bureaucracy and subsidies for the politically-connected at taxpayer’s expense — look no further than the terrible track record of other government credit agencies like Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Export-Import Bank. The second has little to do with transportation issues and instead is a symptom of our broken federal tax code that should be addressed in the context of comprehensive tax reform.
Cut the Red Tape — Regulatory Reform
Republicans in Congress and the White House have prioritized reforming the regulatory state this year, both through Congressional Review Act resolutions of disapproval and passing bills and executive orders with structural reforms. Forthcoming transportation plans are an opportunity for Congress and the Trump administration to continue to relieve the economy from bureaucratic and regulatory hurdles. Specifically:
End endless environmental reviews: Lengthy and often duplicative environmental impact studies increase project costs and drag project timelines. Possible reforms could be removing greenhouse gas emissions from the review process and limiting the National Environmental Policy Act to projects with certain criteria. Doing so would save time and reallocate limited tax dollars from paperwork and red tape onto asphalt and concrete.
Reform labor rules and regulations. Overturning President Barack Obama’s executive order requiring federal contractors to use Project Labor Agreements on federally-funded projects and repealing the Davis-Bacon wage mandate that drives up project costs by 22 percent are two great options. Heritage Foundation research shows that repealing Davis-Bacon and reinvesting the funds back into infrastructure would add 155,000 construction jobs to the economy.
Washington policymakers should act responsibly in future transportation and infrastructure endeavors. Keeping these conservative principles in mind as they craft the policy will improve our nation’s infrastructure and create jobs while protecting taxpayers.
Christine Harbin (@ChrissyHarbin) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. She is vice president of external affairs for Americans for Prosperity.
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