Clashing priorities from GOP, Dems put transportation bill at risk
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Republicans want the upcoming surface transportation bill to require EV buyers to pay more. Democrats want it to address climate change. And businesses see it as a way to overhaul how federal permits are awarded.
Why it matters: With that many competing interests, there's a higher risk that Congress won't be able to pass a bill quickly — and a lapse could create funding gaps or uncertainties for fixing roads and other projects.
- Congress considers the renewal of highway, transit and infrastructure programs every five or six years. The current one expires Sept. 30.
The big picture: Since 1993, lawmakers haven't raised gasoline taxes that finance the fund supporting roads, bridges, and other infrastructure. They have been stuck at 18.3 cents a gallon (24.3 cents on diesel).
- Meanwhile, inflation — plus growth in electric and more fuel-efficient cars — has crippled the fund's purchasing power.
- The answer, Republicans say, is to follow the lead of more than 30 states and use the bill to put a registration fee on EVs and hybrids, which either don't pay or pay less for gasoline.
- "Never have we had a time when the needs are so great but the resources are so small," House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-Mo.) said in a speech last fall.
The other side: Democrats say any bill must build on the bipartisan infrastructure law passed under then-President Biden. They note that transportation accounts for more than a quarter of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.
- "We have to stand up for what we know is the direction our country must be going — reduce greenhouse gases and create hundreds of thousands of clean-energy jobs," Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) said at a Feb. 12 event.
- Markey wants to add his legislation that would integrate green infrastructure — such as climate-resilient paving — into projects while expanding passenger and high-speed rail and hardening railroads against climate-related threats like flooding.
- Other Democrats say they want to ensure the Trump administration doesn't interfere with any of the bill's funding levels.
Zoom in: Powerful business groups see the measure as a way to speed the green-lighting of federal permits.
- "A predictable permitting process will be essential to delivering a robust highway bill that strengthens local economies, supports workers, and keeps America competitive," said Christopher Guith, senior vice president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Global Energy Institute.
Friction point: Democrats have criticized the Trump administration for what they say is its refusal to approve a backlog of wind and solar projects.
- They say they aren't engaging in bipartisan permitting talks without a shift from the administration.
What's next: Republicans on Transportation & Infrastructure hope to issue a draft bill in early March.
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