The loaded transportation agenda and the points of contention that could stymy it

In 2015, the to-do list on things transportation will be shared on Capital Hill as well as a mile down New Jersey Avenue at the US Department of Transportation.  On the list, lawmakers and transportation department employees will find boxes to tick on every topic: aviation, passenger and freight rail, highways, bridges, transit and water resources.  Also on the list are hot-button issues such as commercial drones and the safety of rail cars that carry volatile crude oil, banning cellphone conversations on planes and a slew of policy changes mandated by the last surface transportation bill two years ago.

There’s a strong and diverse coalition of groups — including business, labor and motorists — that have pushed for a gas tax increase as a way to increase federal spending on roads, bridges and transit systems. But that idea is largely a nonstarter on Capitol Hill; instead, support is building for using portions of revenues raised from corporate tax reform as a way to pay for increased infrastructure spending.

Some lawmakers could push for a broader tax overhaul package, an ambitious goal that could further complicate issues as members bicker over the nation’s overall tax structure as one-time revenue, and not a long-term fix. No matter what happens, lawmakers will have to address the Highway Trust Fund early in 2015 — the fund that pays for road, bridge and transit work will go insolvent by May. Even a simple one-year extension, which must be enacted by May 30, would cost around $15 billion because the trust fund takes in far less in gas tax revenues than it is authorized to spend each year.

Another major reauthorization, of the Federal Aviation Administration, doesn’t face the same money problem — the Airport and Airway Trust Fund that pays for over 80 percent of the bill isn’t in the same financial peril. It is increasingly under strain, however, and discussions have begun about whether and how to switch to some new system of financing, including possible privatization.

But the FAA bill brings its own set of policy disputes. West Coast lawmakers will undoubtedly again push to increase the number of long-distance flights into and out of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, the airport closest to the Capitol used by the vast majority of lawmakers. Republicans will scrutinize the multibillion-dollar cost of NextGen, a new air traffic control system that is taking years to implement. The airport and airline lobbies will scrap over whether to raise the current cap on fees passengers pay to use certain airports. And members of both parties will prod the FAA to chart a clear path forward on drones, which to date have been addressed through a series of one-off rulings.

Lawmakers also want to address Amtrak, which saw its congressional authorization expire in 2013. The House Transportation Committee unanimously approved a bipartisan measure in 2014, but things could get more complicated when the full House takes it up. Some hard-line lawmakers want to end Amtrak’s $1.4 billion-per-year federal subsidy, while some Democrats would like to boost the railroad’s funding to help it address a backlog of deteriorating infrastructure.

The Amtrak bill could also ignite a regional battle — the House measure ensures that money made by the profitable Northeast Corridor, the area between D.C. and Boston, gets plowed back into that region’s operations. For the rest of the country, where nearly all Amtrak routes lose money, keeping service levels intact would mean states — facing their own budget shortfalls — would need to offer more money.

Hill politicians also face work on another water resources bill in 2016, though the overwhelming bipartisan support for the 2014 version makes that less of a concern. There’s also a rail safety bill on the horizon that could offer a chance to deal with the rising number of trains carrying crude oil, several of which have had headline-grabbing accidents and spills.

Source: Politico