Congress kicks funding can down nation’s potholed road

When members of Congress are home for the Memorial Day recess, they will make it a point to be seen in public, participating in events to honor those who died while serving in our nation’s armed services.

And the federal lawmakers will undoubtedly want their constituents know that they are putting their noses to the grind stone on Capitol Hill, doing the people’s business. So here’s a question for the representatives and senators: Why won’t Congress pass a long-term funding program to pay for urgently needed improvements to America’s highways, transit systems and infrastructure?

The roads, highways and bridges are in such bad shape that dire warnings have come from the American Road & Transportation Builders Association. About 20 percent of the 900,000 miles of interstate and major roads are in need of resurfacing or reconstruction – a goodly number of those can be found in the Mahoning Valley – and a quarter of the 600,000 bridges are in such poor condition that they are rated as structurally deficient, or are considered to be functionally obsolete.

Last February, the Associated Press came out with an in-depth series of stories that focused on the crumbling infrastructure. The wire service quoted American Association of State Highway and Transportation officials as saying that the annual road and bridge spending by governments at all levels is falling $32 billion short of what is needed because federal funding has not kept up with the growing need. The yearly amount available to states from the Federal Highway Trust Fund has hovered around $40 billion since 2007.

That’s why members of Congress, who will be eager to touch base with their constituents, should be asked about the legislative branch’s sheer irresponsibility when it comes to addressing this national disgrace.

Faced with a May 30 deadline for replenishing the Highway Trust Fund, the Republican-controlled House and Senate passed a stopgap measure that will last just two months. The thinking is that congressmen and women will use the next 60 days to think seriously about the country’s crumbling infrastructure and commit to developing a long-term funding plan.

Don’t hold your breath.

History has shown that our federal law- makers would rather sweep politically risky issues under the rug than take action that could anger the voters back home.

Declining revenue

They are well aware that the revenue generated by the federal gasoline taxes has been on the decline for the past several years, while the cost of fixing our highways, roads and bridges has been climbing. The drop in gas prices at the pump, a change in driving habits and the availability of fuel-efficient cars and trucks have contributed to the decrease in the revenue generated by the federal fuel taxes.

In response to this worsening situation, President Barack Obama has proposed a six-year, $478 billion program to pay for highway, transit and infrastructure upgrading. The funding would be split between the current fuel taxes and a tax on foreign profits of U.S. corporations.

Unfortunately — but not surprisingly — the Democratic president’s plan has hit a brick wall. It’s called the GOP-controlled Congress.

Republicans are sticking to their goals of limiting spending and reducing taxes – even though the benefits to be derived from a long-term infrastructure improvement program would be enjoyed by Red, Blue and Purple states.

Hence, this question: If Obama’s proposal is so unacceptable to Republicans, where is their long-range commitment to fixing the nation’s highways, roads and bridges?