BIPARTISAN POLICY CENTER
As states and metropolitan areas struggle with the severe recession and seek to productively apply the billions of dollars of stimulus funds toward improving our transportation systems, the Nation actually confronts even more daunting challenges in defining new policies and programs to improve the system’s performance and assure its sustainability. The federal surface transportation program expires this September. In years past, it’s reauthorization would largely be a battle over federal gas tax revenue allocation between the states. But we face much more daunting challenges today, as our transportation systems fall increasingly into disrepair, dragging our economy down as their performance degrades. We need an investment strategy for transportation in this country, not a spending strategy. To get there we face systemic challenges.
First, right now we actually have no national transportation policy. Despite federal distribution of over $40 billion/year for surface transportation investments – those funds are not linked to solving ANY transportation problems – like crippling congestion, growing inefficiencies and costs of moving goods, and unsustainable fuel dependence and carbon emissions. The problem is not just the growth of federal earmarks, but the absence of any clear national goals or accountability for results.
Second, the federal role should focus on nationally significant outcomes and align programs and resources to advance those specific goals. Clear and specific national performance goals are the key to performance and accountability. We need to restructure and focus federal programs so that we spend EVERY dollar wisely — indeed, these must be viewed as investments, not simply spending. They need to yield multiple returns — economic prosperity, environmental quality, national security, equity, and safety. A complete overhaul of our current cacophony of federal “programs” is required.
Third, a specific national priority must be fixing – and optimizing the performance – of what we already have — i.e., Fix it First. The existing infrastructure is one of our greatest competitive advantages yet we have allowed it to fall into disrepair. Unlike China, we already have a lot of stuff we need — it’s just falling apart and needs to be restored and managed.
Fourth, we need to bust the silos and focus on performance. When we make transportation investments, we must not have special programs, funding or a priori bias for any particular modes (roads, rail or transit) AND we must integrate our transportation agenda with economic development, environment, energy, and housing goals.
The good news is, many in the transportation community agree that the “status-quo” is not an option. There’s less agreement on what a new “Eisenhower-like” vision for our 21st century transportation system ought to be. The Transportation Project of the Bipartisan Policy Center will soon be launching a comprehensive new vision – and strategy – for framing a broad national dialogue on what we need and how to get there. Given the Nation’s severe fiscal challenges – both now and in the future – it’s useful to recognize that the poor state of Nation’s infrastructure is actually less an issue of inadequate funding – and more a challenge of developing a public and political consensus of 21st century goals for performance-based transportation investments. We need to focus scarce public and private resources “like a laser” on achieving clear national goals. In our view, that’s the only direction that holds promise for breaking the current stalemate where resources are allocated based on politics or geography, and not on sensible and measurable transportation outcomes. Ultimately, our transportation investments must produce returns on three fronts simultaneously: economic development, environmental quality, and equitable access to all of our citizens. Only then will we have a policy worthy of a 21st century nation.
Written by Douglas Foy and JayEtta Hecker, former leaders of the Conservation Law Foundation and GAO respectively. Both are currently associated with the National Transportation Policy Project at the Bipartisan Policy Center.
About Bipartisan Policy Center
www.bipartisanpolicy.org
“The Bipartisan Policy Center is a non-profit organization that was established in 2007 by former Senate Majority Leaders Howard Baker, Tom Daschle, Bob Dole and George Mitchell to provide a forum where tough policy challenges can be addressed in a pragmatic and politically viable manner. The Bipartisan Policy Center’s National Transportation Policy Project (NTPP) is bringing new voices to the transportation debate and creating a dynamic and enduring framework for the next authorization bill and beyond. With billions of dollars on the line, our diverse group of members believes we need to rethink old assumptions and move beyond the status quo.”
RSS Feed