Transportation Projects Strong Contender for Inclusion in Jobs Package (AASHTO Journal)
House and Senate Democrats have started crafting a package of legislation aimed at creating jobs. Both chambers are strongly considering including investment in transportation infrastructure as part of the package, which congressional leaders said could be enacted by early next year.
In the House of Representatives, Democratic leaders have decided to move a jobs package by the end of this year to combat the 10.2 percent unemployment rate — the highest since 1983. Although the economy has shown signs of recovering from the recent recession, the number of Americans out of work continues to climb, alarming the majority party in Congress.
The House Democratic Caucus decided Monday night to move legislation to address the dismal jobs situation. Ideas considered include infrastructure spending, aid to small business, and extensions of expiring tax breaks.
House Democratic Caucus Chairman John Larson of Connecticut has previously spoken out in favor of transportation investment as a great way to create more jobs. Other Democratic representatives said this week they want transportation to be part of the jobs package. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar, D-MN, has a draft $500 billion, six-year authorization measure for highways, bridges, mass transit, and safety programs that he wants to see enacted by year’s end as part of a jobs package, or as a stand-alone measure.
Oberstar has been gathering information from state transportation departments that he says will show there are several thousand “ready to go” projects across the country that could benefit from federal funding. Oberstar said he wants transportation to receive a large chunk of any appropriations authorized by a jobs package — far more than the 7 percent of February’s economic recovery act spending that went through the U.S. Department of Transportation to the states.
Oberstar has support from some of his colleagues for funding more transportation projects.
“I want the whole highway bill,” said Rep. Leonard Boswell, D-IA. “But if I can’t get a whole loaf, I’ll take a slice.”
Rep. Russ Carnahan, D-MO, said his top priority is enacting the transportation bill.
“Transportation funds would help with the spring road-construction season,” he said. “That would be one of the best job creators.”
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-MD, said this week that committee chairmen have been told to offer job-creation proposals that could be wrapped into a package for floor consideration in December. The House plans to adjourn for the year by Dec. 18. Hoyer said he wants a jobs bill done before that happens.
Paying for a jobs package is the major problem facing Democrats. It’s the same issue that has stalled consideration of Oberstar’s six-year transportation authorization measure. Some conservative Democrats known as “Blue Dogs” have expressed opposition to paying for a jobs package through increased borrowing.
Hoyer suggested to reporters Tuesday that highway spending could be accelerated in the next year or two and then paid for in later years. Representatives are also considering a proposal to pay for a jobs package by creating a new tax on stock transactions. House Highways and Transit Subcommittee Chairman Peter DeFazio, D-OR, is among the leading supporters of that plan. Taxing stock trades and other financial transactions could raise $150 billion a year, proponents contend.
Obama to Hold Jobs Summit Early Next Month; Senators Also Support Jobs Legislation
The White House will hold a jobs forum Dec. 3 with labor and business leaders. President Barack Obama is then scheduled to head to Allentown, PA, to kick off a “listening tour” that will take place over the next few months to help him sell the need for a jobs package.
In the Senate, odds of a package passing this year are slim since the chamber’s calendar is packed with a healthcare reform bill and numerous unfinished appropriations measures. But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-NV, has told his caucus a jobs package will be a top priority early in 2010.
Senate Budget Chairman Kent Conrad, D-ND, said any job-creating measures must be paid for over some period of time. Conrad said he would like to see the package emphasize infrastructure projects.
“We certainly need a transportation bill,” he said. “It’s critically important for the country.”
Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin, D-IL, and Democratic Policy Committee Chairman Byron Dorgan, D-ND, are leading the effort among Senate Democrats to compile a jobs package. Durbin has previously expressed strong support for transportation spending as part of any future economic stimulus effort. About 20 Democratic senators met Wednesday to begin hashing out a proposal that could be debated early next year.
Dorgan said he’d like to see a bill enacted before the next State of the Union address, which is typically held in late January.
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