Momentum builds this week for a short-term infusion of cash for the federal Highway Trust Fund as both houses of Congress try send members home for the fall election season with something to show for the session.
The trust fund, which gets its money from fuel taxes, will begin running short at the end of July, leaving a number of states -- including Arkansas -- without federal dollars they were counting on to continue ongoing road construction projects. Among the work threatened with delay in Arkansas is the continued widening of Interstate 49 between Fayetteville and Bella Vista from four to six lanes.
What’s the Point: The U.S. Senate should pass pending legislation to keep the Highway Trust Fund solvent through next May so that important Arkansas Projects — like the continued widening of Interstate 49 — won’t come to a dead stop.
The funding problem with highways is nothing new. The revenue from the federal fuel tax, like Arkansas' state fuel tax, has been flat for a while as fuel efficiency and energy alternatives improve. So, the federal dollars generated by the tax haven't kept up with the expectations upon which the last large highway appropriation was based.
As usual, Congress hasn't been able to settle the impending highway funding crisis with any sort of long-term solution. A short-term plan passed by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives last week would infuse enough money to keep the trust fund solvent through May 2015. The Democrat-controlled Senate developed a similar plan in committee, and it appears that a deal on the bill may actually come to a vote in the next few days. If it passes, it will allow a number of important projects around the country to proceed. But it will also -- stop us if you've heard this before -- kick the proverbial can of a permanent solution down the road. Again.
For the record, we agree with U.S. Rep. Steve Womack of Arkansas' 3rd District, who said the short-term plan is far from ideal, but is better than nothing at this point. It's not just I-49 in Womack's district that will face construction delays if a deal is not reached. As many as 15 projects face a similar fate if the federal matching highway dollars don't make their way through Congress and on to Arkansas.
The short-term deal faces some opposition from both sides. Progressives want a long-term solution now (that could include an increase in the fuel tax) instead of another patch on a leaky tire. Conservatives don't like the accounting "gimmicks" being used in the short-term fix that simply borrow money from other parts of the federal government to be paid back as fuel revenue flows in over time.
Meanwhile, states like Arkansas that have come up with local revenue to pair with promised federal dollars from the trust fund are held hostage by a Congress locked in an ideological stalemate. It appears that the prospect of campaigning for re-election while important road projects back home get delayed may have moved some lawmakers enough to create a little progress.
The Senate should pass the short-term deal the House sent up. Every delay in funding for these large infrastructure projects adds to the overall costs. Perhaps by next May, when another funding crisis looms, the new Congress can find the wherewithal to develop a workable, long-term solution and free the Highway Trust Fund money from Washington's gridlock.
Commentary on 07/23/2014