The American Highway Users Alliance (AHUA) Annual Meeting recently covered timely transportation topics, including transportation program reauthorization updates, funding challenges, and more. The meeting marked the first annual meeting for recently appointed Laura Perrotta, President & CEO-AHUA.
The meeting also included remarks by Senator Tom Carper (D-DE), Jim Tymon, AASHTO, and Helena Zyblikewycz, Staff Director-House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (House T&I Committee), and other leading transportation officials.
The overall tone and tenor of remarks was cautiously optimistic. The House T&I are working quietly behind the scenes in a bi-partisan way, and are working to release a bill in early 2020. However, finding a sustainable funding source that also stabilizes the highway trust fund remains the main obstacle. Similarly, on the Senate side, identifying viable funding mechanisms remains a challenge, although the relevant committees of jurisdiction do appear to be working across the aisle on a solution.
The primary “touchstones” of a funding solution appear to be:
The bill must be paid for, users should pay,
and the solution must be sustainable.
A panel discussion on reauthorization included perspectives from three former US DOT Secretaries , whose leadership tenures with the agency spans more than 30 years: Hon. James Burnley (1983-87 and 1987-89); the Hon. Rodney Slater (1997-2001) and FHWA Administrator (1993 to 1997); and the Hon. Norman Mineta (2001-06), Ranking Member (RM)-House Transportation Committee, and Chairman-House T&I Committee for two years.
The meeting also included a keynote luncheon with Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR). Also presenting remarks were Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO); Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA); and Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-IL). Other presenters included Jeff Davis, Senior Fellow and Editor-Eno Transportation Weekly, and Richard Russell, Staff Director-Senate Environment & Public Works Committee. Leif Wathne, Vice President-ACPA and Director-ISCP was also present at the meeting.
For the AHUA website, please go to: https://www.highways.org
For the article about Laura Perrotta titled “AHUA Names Perrotta as Chief Executive”, please go to: http://www.acpa.org/ahua-names-ceo/
For the House T&I Committee, please go to: https://transportation.house.gov