Jim Riley, Director, Government Affairs
John Boling, Director, Government Affairs
Joe Colaneri, Director, Government Affairs
Patricia Maeder, Division Coordinator
www.nssga.org
Action Center
e-Digest
WHITE HOUSE HOLDS MEETING OF HIGHWAY INTERESTS
NSSGA participated in a meeting held Feb. 17, with Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove,Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta and other key administration political operatives to discuss TEA 21 reauthorization legislation. Card and Rove said that the funding level for a six-year reauthorization contained in the president's FY '06 budget is as high as the administration can go. They said that the House leadership has endorsed this funding level as has Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.). Talks are ongoing with Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman James Inhofe (R-Okla.). Secretary Mineta emphasized that the Department of Transportation is fully supportive of the administration's funding level for reauthorization.Mineta and Rove asked meeting participants for their support and assistance in getting a reauthorization bill passed in the near term recognizing other pressing issues may interevene and the bill might not get done this year. NSSGA has stood with the Transportation Construction Coalition (TCC) and the Americans for Transportation Mobility (ATM) in support of the Senate-passed funding level of $318 billion. The NSSGA Government Affairs Committee will hold a Monday, Feb. 21 conference call to discuss NSSGA's position on the reauthorization bill and in advance of an ATM steering committee meeting scheduled for Feb. 22 to reconsider the Coalition's position on reauthorization. If you are interested in participating in the call, please contact Patricia Maeder.
HOUSE LEADERS REACH AGREEMENT ON MINIMUM GUARANTEE
House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Don Young (R-Alaska) has reached a tentative agreement with House GOP leaders on the state highway formula issue that has bogged down progress on the reauthorization bill. According to the agreement, Young has agreed that the bill will move through the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee with a minimum guarantee (MG) provision identical to last year's bill, or 92 percent rate of return up from the current 90.5 percent rate of return that states now receive. On the House floor, however, Young has agreed to support an amendment (it is not clear whether it will be his amendment or offered by someone else) to the bill that increases the "scope" of highway spending covered by the minimum guarantee.Although the agreement does not specify what discretionary (or allocated) programs in the bill will be placed under the scope of the minimum guarantee, it would be impossible to get to a 92.6 percent return without placing the $11.1 billion high priority projects account back under the cope of the minimum guarantee. This represents a major victory for the donor states and for the Senate, which last year insisted that projects be put back under the cope. This is not good for states that stand to get a high percentage of the project money (most of the leadership of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee) because if the state's total project money is higher than its percentage of the total formula apportionment, then the minimum guarantee apportionment is reduced accordingly.
House Democrats have not signed off on a minimum guarantee agreement and, if history is any indication, it could cause problems with Young's Democratic ranking member, Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.) who previously led those opposed to the donor state demand that high priority projects be placed under the scope of the minimum guarantee.
Chairman Young has scheduled a Mar. 2 Committee mark up of the House reauthorization bill, H.R. 3, and the full House is expected to consider the bill the second week of March.
Timing of Senate consideration of the bill is unclear.