Congressional Delegation Hears Pitch from League on Transportation Funding

What a week!  I just returned from the Michigan Transportation Team's 2010 annual Fly-In to Washington, DC.  Two dozen members of the coalition converged on Capital Hill to meet with national transportation and infrastructure funding advocates and the members of Michigan's congressional delegation.  We split into two groups on Wednesday and spent the day meeting with each member or their staff to talk about the importance of reauthorizing and increasing federal transportation funding.  The group I was with had the good fortune to spend time with Congressmen Gary Peters and Dale Kildee and a few minutes with Congresswoman Candice Miller, along with staff from Rep. Fred Upton, Vern Ehlers, Sander Levin, Mike Rogers, and Thad McCotter's offices.  We discussed the depth of Michigan's transportation needs, concerns with the potential diversion of fuel taxes as part of the Climate Change legislation, and the potential for reauthorization of the federal Clean Water Act, along with soliciting support for Michigan's next round of high-speed rail grant applications.  Many of members expressed their support for infrastructure and highlighted the importance of making sure that Michigan gets a better return on our tax dollar through the next reauthorization.  There was quite a bit of talk, from members on both sides of the aisle, about the need to think towards the future on transportation funding and to have a full debate on funding mechanisms beyond the gas tax...talking about things like a Vehicle Miles Traveled tax or a federal vehicle registration tax to help take the place of falling gas tax revenues from more fuel efficient, hybrid, or electric vehicles.  One of the messages relayed back to us was that action on reauthorization, and the necessary funding to support a reauthorization, seem doubtful yet this year.  Even with that fact in mind, most of us came away feeling that we had made good progress with each office and a receptive audience when the time comes for Congress to get to work on the transportation issue.

Chris Hackbarth is the transportation policy advisor for the Michigan Municipal League.  Chris can be reached at 517-908-0303, or by email at chackbarth@mml.org.