Heavy Duty Trucking, April 2018

HDT APRIL 2018 12 WWW TRUCKINGINFO COM Where will infrastructure plan end up on Capitol Hill David Cullen Executive Editor dcullen@ truckinginfo com David covers legislative and regulatory issues for Truckinginfo com and HDTs monthly Washington Watch as well as writing substantive features for the magazine on management issues equipment trends and more He can be reached at dcullen@ truckinginfo com or 203 371 0040 hen it comes to the cautious rollout of President Trumps infrastructure plan which was under way for well over a year it can be perhaps be said to broadly paraphrase Winston Churchill that never before had so little been said to so many about so much The Trump plan was finally released on Feb 12 As of press time Congress had just begun taking up the plan But its early days and hard to predict what will become of the presidents proposal once its fed into the sausage making machine on Capitol Hill One thing is known The plan is not yet broadly understood by industry stakeholders or members of Congress No doubt thats why in late February about two weeks before the Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing to get administration perspectives on the gargantuan plan Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao told an American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials meeting that a new White House publication was due out soon that would provide background on the plan Chao described the administrations overall plan as a comprehensive infrastructure proposal it is broad ambitious and has ignited a necessary debate throughout the nation and in the Congress on infrastructure priorities and processes Nothing new there But the DOT chief did make a point that those who dont live and breathe policy might need to hear Calling the Trump plan a 10 year investment to modernize our countrys infrastructure assets Chao noted that it is comprehensive and separate from a reauthorization package which typically covers a shorter timeframe Chao reiterated that Trumps goal is to stimulate at least 15 trillion in infrastructure investment including at least 200 billion in direct federal funding The guiding principles are to use federal dollars as seed money to incentivize infrastructure investment provide for the needs of rural communities streamline permitting and speed up project delivery and reduce unnecessary and overly burdensome regulations Opening that Senate Commerce hearing on March 14 Chairman John Thune R SD declared that improving our infrastructure is an area where bipartisan agreement should be achievable as both sides want to invest in and modernize our infrastructure He also made a point of commending his colleague from across the aisle Ranking Member Bill Nelson D FL stating that as exemplified by Nelsons willingness to work with me on infrastructure legislation both sides can come together on this It can happen this year The spirit may be willing but the details on how to harness it may differ In his opening statement Sen Nelson said on the one hand that common sense will tell you that we need to increase our investment in infrastructure On the other hand he indicated he would press administration officials to detail how are we going to pay for this The presidents plan calls for 200 billion but has no clear way to pay for it At the same time the administrations budget cuts critical infrastructure programs Then came his kicker We cant cut our way to prosperity and we cant toll our way out of this problem Still hope springs eternal even on Capitol Hill Nelson concluded by stating that his plan is to work with Chairman Thune and my colleagues on this committee to try to find the best ideas for how we can invest in our infrastructure WASHINGTON WATCH The presidents proposal could at last be on the fast track or headed to a dead end W