Negotiating the transportation equity act

When a carton of milk expires - there's no hope of reviving it. You can't convene the family and vote whether or not to change the expiration date. You can't argue about whether to keep it for a few days, because when the milk is gone - it's gone, and nothing will bring it back.

But when a federal law - say the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act - expires, it's entirely different.

The current surface transportation reauthorization act, which funds highways and mass transit, expires Sept. 30. But no worries because "in the past 30 years, Congress has never completed action on the reauthorization act by the date on which the programs expired," according to the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

So we have a grand tradition of procrastination. And this year looks to be no different, with divides emerging between the Obama administration, Senate and House on whether to proceed with a long-term bill or vote on an 18-month version.

I asked suburban Democrat U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski, the local member on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to set the scene.

"Every six years, there is a new federal highway and transit authorization bill which sets out the amount of money that will be spent for the next six years for improving roads, building bridges - all kinds of transportation projects and also for mass transit," Lipinski said. "This is the big opportunity to set transportation policy and set how much money is going to be coming to each state."

The Transportation Committee is backing a reauthorization bill calling for $450 billion to be spent over six years that includes $350 billion for highways and bridges and about $100 billion for mass transit. The committee also seeks $50 billion for high-speed rail.

Not so fast, say the Senate and White House, which prefer an 18-month reauthorization.

The dispute is occurring amid the looming bankruptcy of the highway trust fund, which pays for roads and other infrastructure. Unreliable fuel prices plus the growth of hybrids and more efficient cars are reducing the amount of gas consumed in America - and that's steadily eroding the revenues the 18.4 cents-a-gallon tax brings in.

And money is at the heart of the dysfunction over transportation reauthorization.

"The big issue that's holding up progress on the bill is the revenue issue," Lipinski said. "Right now, there are different proposals that have been offered on how to provide the extra funding," but "there's no consensus on which one to follow."

Some ideas floating around include a transaction fee on speculative trading in oil futures, restoring money transferred to the General Fund from the Highway Trust Fund (good luck), issuing U.S. Treasury bonds, increases in excise taxes per barrel of crude oil, vehicle registration fees (ouch), increases in the tax on heavy trucks and fees on containers moving through U.S. ports.

One controversial moneymaker is charging a vehicle miles traveled tax, based on the miles you drive - but don't expect that to emerge as law anytime soon.

Ironically, the dallying over the federal transportation legislation comes as Illinois finally passed its first capital program in years.

"(With momentum at the state level), we do need to get a federal bill passed to bring in more federal dollars for some of these large projects and also for mass transit," Lipinski said. "There's talk of second stimulus bill. I have said, and many members of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee say, 'This is your second stimulus bill.' "

Who wants what

Well, we don't know what will happen with the transportation authorization but we do know what projects some local members of Congress are supporting if lightning strikes. Here's a quick recap of some wish lists.

• U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam, a Wheaton Republican, has put in for $30 million for a full interchange at Elmhurst Road and I-90 in Elk Grove Village, $775,000 for expanding the I-290 and Thorndale interchange in Itasca and $10 million for improvements to the intersection of Irving Park and York roads in Bensenville.

• U.S. Rep. Bill Foster, a Batavia Democrat, has put in for $21.7 million to upgrade exit ramps at I-88 and Route 47 in Sugar Grove, $14 million to build a bridge over the UP rail line at Keslinger Road and Route 38 in Kane County, and $2.4 million to extend Bowes Road in South Elgin.

• U.S. Rep. Melissa Bean, a Barrington Democrat, wants underpasses constructed at the CN tracks (formerly the EJ&E Railway) and Route 14 costing $69 million and at Route 59 costing $84 million, and $6.8 million for improvements to Route 83 in Lake County.

• Lipinski wants $700 million for CREATE, a program aimed at reducing freight train congestion in the region.