Bipartisan Policy Center Calls for National Consensus to Create Bold Transportation Policy Goals for 21st Century
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
Contact: Eileen McMenamin, Director of Communications
(202) 379-1633
emcmenamin@bipartisanpolicy.org
Bipartisan Policy Center Calls for
National Consensus to Create Bold
Transportation Policy Goals for 21st
Century
BPC’s National
Transportation Policy Project Comments on U.S.
DOT Proposed Vision for
Reform
Washington, DC – September 10, 2008 – Last week the Secretary of Transportation announced that U.S. DOT might have to delay funding of essential projects due to a pending shortfall in federal highway funds. This financial crisis focuses attention on the absence of a compelling vision for the future of transportation in this country. To that end, the National Transportation Policy Project (NTPP), a project of the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC), today called for a clear definition of the needs and goals of the nation’s transportation system in releasing its comments on the U.S. Department of Transportation’s 2008 reform plan for reauthorization. (Download Commentary)
U.S. DOT’s proposal focuses on maintaining and improving the interstate highway system, addressing urban congestion, and allowing local governments to determine their own transit and highway priorities. It aims to provide a framework for congressional debate on the reauthorization of SAFETEA-LU—the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act, a six-year bill authorizing spending on highways and transit.
Currently DOT and Congress are at odds with how best to reform transportation policy. “We applaud both Transportation Secretary Peters and Congressional leadership for initiating the discussion on this issue, but it often seems as if they are talking past one another,” said NTPP co-chair and former Congressman Sherwood Boehlert. “In order to move forward we must develop bipartisan consensus on a vision and goals for the federal role in transportation policy.”
The NTPP has identified five long-term goals for federal transportation policy: Economic Growth, Environmental and Energy Security, Metropolitan Accessibility, National Connectivity, and Safety. In its commentary, NTPP highlights the fact that the Secretary’s proposal is too vague about the appropriate federal role in transportation policy.
However, NTPP agrees with DOT that the
system for funding federal transportation
projects lacks accountability. DOT statistics
point out that over the last decade,
transportation spending has increased by more
than 100 percent, while congestion has
increased by 300 percent. “We need to
establish metrics that
effectively measure performance,” said Former U.S. Senator and NTPP
Co-Chair Slade Gorton.
“Metrics are one of the key policy components
that NTPP is developing right now.”
The
NTPP also believes that federal transportation
policy should include climate change and energy
security as measures of transportation system
performance. Transportation is the only
major sector of the national economy that is
almost totally dependent on oil and is
responsible for some 30 percent of all
greenhouse gas emissions in the United
States. “We believe that, by linking
energy security and environmental goals to
federal transportation funding decisions, we
can make significant progress toward all our
goals,” said NTPP
co-chair, former Congressman Martin
Sabo.
NTPP points to the proposed Federal Interest Highway Program, which is intended to help repair and preserve existing infrastructure and introduce accountability. “It’s a step in the right direction,” said Sabo, “but they missed the opportunity to propose some important changes to the funding formula.” The new program’s implementation strategy intends to use travel time reliability, decreased delays, and improved condition of bridges and pavement as measures of success. But because the formula for funding still uses vehicle miles traveled and fuel consumption as proxies for overall use of the system, it actually rewards states for increasing greenhouse gas emissions and fuel consumption.
In addition, NTPP believes that
too much emphasis on private-sector solutions
and public-private funding partnerships
increases the risk of removing the focus on
overall transportation goals. To help states
and localities achieve clearly articulated
goals, federal policies must be permissive, not
prescriptive, enabling states and localities to
focus on outcomes rather than methods.
NTPP believes that a thoughtful, coherent, and coordinated federal transportation policy will foster energy independence, reduced greenhouse gases, economic vitality, and enhanced quality of life for all Americans. To learn more about the BPC’s National Transportation Policy Project’s Commentary on DOT’s 2008 Policy Proposal, visit www.bipartisanpolicy.org.
###
NTPP is a
project of the Bipartisan Policy Center. It
aims to advance politically viable policies
that transcend partisan and regional
differences to address the
transportation-related economic, environmental,
and energy security challenges our nation
confronts. The Project is co-chaired by
former Senator Slate Gorton, former Congressman
Martin Sabo and Sherwood Boehlert, and former
Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer. They are joined by
a diverse group of diverse group of civic and
business leaders, and experts in the
transportation field.
###
About the Bipartisan Policy
Center:
Former U.S. Senate Majority
Leaders Baker, Daschle, Dole, and Mitchell
formed the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) to
develop and promote solutions that can attract
the public support and political momentum to
achieve real progress. The BPC acts as an
incubator for policy efforts that engage top
political figures, advocates, academics, and
business leaders in the art of principled
compromise. For more information please visit
our website: http://www.bipartisanpolicy.org/
