MAP-21 Reauthorization markup starts May 15 in Senate Committee

Senators Boxer, Vitter, Carper, and Barrasso Announce Markup for Bipartisan MAP-21 Reauthorization Bill

EPW Committee Markup scheduled for May 15th

Washington, D.C. -- Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW), Senator David Vitter (R-LA), Ranking Member of the Committee, Senator Tom Carper (D-DE), Chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee, and Senator John Barrasso (R-WY), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee, today announced the markup date for the reauthorization of Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21), long-term bipartisan legislation to fund and improve the nation's Federal-aid highway programs for six years at current funding plus inflation.

The bill will be marked up in the EPW Committee on Thursday, May 15th at 10:00 am ET. The current surface transportation bill, MAP-21, expires on September 30th.

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President Obama has suggested that lawmakers approve a four-year, $302 billion transportation bill.

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said Thursday that the upper chamber's bill would last six years and call for funding transportation projects at the current level of approximately $50 billion adjusted for inflation, however.

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Confronting the pressure facing lawmakers on transportation funding is a projected bankruptcy in the Department of Transportation's Highway Trust Fund that non-partis an budget analysts have said could occur as early as August.

The transportation trust fund is usually filled with revenue that is collected from the 18.4 cents per gallon federal gas tax. The gas tax has not been increased since 1993 and receipts are being outpaced by infrastructure expenses by an estimated $20 billion per year now, however.

The gas tax typically brings in about $34 billion per year, but the current transportation bill contains more than $50 billion in road and transit spending even with the 2013 sequester budget cuts factored in.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — GOP-drafted legislation that would impose cuts on Amtrak repairs, transit projects, and a transportation grant program championed by President Barack Obama sailed through a key House panel on Wednesday.
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But difficulties remain. The 2015 House transportation and housing measure is cut $1.8 billion below current levels, prompting Democrats to protest cuts to programs like so-called TIGER grants, which date to Obama's 2009 economic stimulus bill and were funded at $600 million this year. The program funds a variety of transportation projects and Obama wants to nearly double its budget, but the GOP bill offers the administration just $100 million.
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The House measure approved Wednesday maintains a $149 million appropriation for a program that subsidizes air fares to rural airports. Amtrak capital grants would be cut by $200 million and employees of the passenger railroad would generally be limited to $35,000 a year in overtime.

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The House on Monday rejected proposals from Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga.) to slash funding for Amtrak.

Broun, who failed to proceed in the Georgia Senate Republican primary last month, argued cutting Amtrak's budget would give it motivation to improve customer service and management.

"Amtrak has struggled for way too long under the status quo. It's time to send them a message," Broun said.

Broun's first amendment would have eliminated all $340 million in funding for Amtrak in the 2015 Transportation and Housing and Urban Development (THUD) appropriations bill. It was rejected by voice vote.

The Georgia Republican's second amendment, rejected 154-248, would have cut Amtrak funding by $34 million, or 10 percent overall. Broun said the cut would be only a "paltry amount."

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"There is an absolute necessity today to ensure that we have mobility for our people in this nation,' said Amtrak President and CEO Joe Boardman. "Rail brings that."

Nationwide, 31 million train passengers paid $2 billion for tickets. But Amtrak is asking Washington for $1.6 billion, a 16 percent budget increase.
"We serve 40 percent of the rural population of the United States, Amtrak does," Boardman said.

"For Amtrak to think that they're going to get a 16 percent raise when the federal government is borrowing about 35 cents on every dollar from countries like China," countered Rep. Steve Scalise, R-New Orleans.

"I think they know that they need to listen to those in their local communities that need and want this service for the future," responded Boardman.

"They're incredibly mismanaged. They're always over budget," Scalise said....

Before Hurricane Katrina, Amtrak's Sunset Limited went from New Orleans to Florida. But that stopped after the hurricane.

Now Amtrak's CEO said he would love to resume the route to Florida.

"Congress told me to do a study and I did it, and they said they'd give us the money to fix it. Where is it?" asked Boardman.

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Rep. Steve Scalise, R-New Orleans

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Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) on Wednesday unveiled the first bipartisan Senate proposal to raise the gas tax, broaching a dangerous political issue that lawmakers have avoided for years.

The Murphy-Corker plan would raise the gas tax by 12 cents over the next two years, raising $164 billion over the next decade and covering the shortfall in the Highway Trust Fund.

It would index the gas tax to inflation, pegging it to the Consumer Price Index, to avoid future shortfalls.

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