Page 19 - ATR 1 2012 web 2

The politics Behind

the Highway Bill

A commentary on what’s stalling more infrastructure spending

By John d. schulz
Contributing Writer

Let’s engage in a little fantasy. Let’s
assume you are the CEO of a company
that’s drowning in red ink and badly in
need of cash. And someone offers you
a financial life vest—a steady infusion
of new cash—and asks nothing more
in return than to use your new and
improved product.
Assuming it’s legal it’s a no-brainer,
right? Take the cash, turn the company
around and everyone lives happily ever
after.
Well, instead of a company, let’s
substitute a country. Make it the United
States of America, the greatest country
on earth. And the badly needed cash
is for rebuilding its infrastructure, its
roads and bridges.
And the group offering the finan-
cial life vest is actually the huge indus-
try that depends on those roads and
bridges—the trucking industry, which
accounts for 7 million jobs and as much
as 5 percent of the nation’s $14 trillion
Gross Domestic Product. THE rEalITy treasury and filing them in the Highway
The trucking industry is offering up The issue is the renewal of the Trust Fund, which is not generating
more money to rebuild those roads and surface transportation bill, commonly enough revenue from fuel taxes to pay
bridges it relies on to perform. And the known as the highway bill. Congress even those jobs that are contracted.
folks who run the country, who oversee used to pass one every six years. But that Rather than pass a new highway
those roads and bridges in the public hasn’t happened. funding bill, Congress has extended the
trust are saying, ‘no thanks.’ Congress has resorted to a long funding at least eight times, mostly at
End of fantasy. Enter reality. This series of “continuing resolutions,” tem- three-month intervals, with the latest
is really going on in Washington as we porary funding issues, essentially issu- extension due to expire March 31.
speak. ing promissory notes from the general
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arkansas truCking rePort | issue 1 2012 19