Encouraging Skepticism in Federal Transportation Reauthorization Briefings[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPiHLDk32h0[/embed]

Recent efforts by Transportation for America (T4America) have aimed to shed light on the complex process of federal surface transportation reauthorization. Through organized briefings for Congressional staff, T4America seeks to raise awareness about the inefficiencies of the current program, which incurs high costs yet delivers reduced benefits for taxpayers.

During these briefings, T4America's president and CEO, Beth Osborne, noted that the majority of attendees had limited experience with the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) enacted in November 2021. This highlights a prevalent issue in legislative offices, where the infrequent five-year reauthorization cycle leads to a lack of deep understanding of the transportation program. As a result, many staff members are not questioning the overarching goals of the program.

Despite the episodic nature of transportation reauthorization, the process remains largely unchallenged. This contributes to maintaining the same bipartisan approaches without evaluating their effectiveness or return on investment.

Throughout the briefings, participants were encouraged to reflect on the fundamental objectives of the federal transportation program. When asked about the bill's necessity, responses frequently focused on outcomes like providing consistent funding, allocating state transportation monies, and improving the transportation system.

• “To provide steady, predictable funding.”
• “To allocate transportation money to states.”
• “To make a better transportation system.”

These are outputs rather than measurable outcomes, illustrating a common legislative mindset centered on financial distribution rather than performance. Few inquiries delve into whether current funding achieves significant progress, especially regarding the billions spent on subsidizing the program.

Attendees gradually shifted their focus to more outcome-oriented goals, as defined by performance measures introduced in the 2012 MAP-21 program:

• “To make a safer, faster, reliable, more predictable system.”
• “To reduce congestion.”
• “To finally fix our crumbling roads and bridges.”

These objectives raise questions about the program’s actual success. If substantial borrowing is deemed necessary, Congress should critically evaluate the prospective returns.

Beth Osborne questioned the efficacy of current spending, stating, “after spending over $1 trillion on transportation, our roads are still crumbling, unsafe, and congested.” She challenged staffers to consider why they should support a program requiring major change, pointing to delays and cancellations of projects initially funded by the IIJA.

Obstacles have emerged, such as Congress rescinding over $2.3 billion from IIJA allocations and further retractions through partisan legislation. Additionally, the Trump administration revoked $963 million for clean transportation, affecting states like Minnesota, Colorado, Illinois, and California.

It’s time to focus on opportunities and outcomes

The reauthorization process presents a chance to pivot federal policies towards priorities that resonate with the public. This includes enhancing road safety, ensuring accountability for infrastructure maintenance, and shifting focus from outdated congestion metrics to accessibility and affordability. Strategic urban planning, such as increasing housing in well-connected areas, also warrants consideration.

During the briefings, staffers engaged with policy experts on issues like transit and safety to explore how these areas could be improved through reauthorization. A greater number of Congressional members should question the program's value and cost-effectiveness.

The appeal for transformative change underscores the need to halt funding unproductive infrastructure, which fails to improve safety or infrastructure quality. This is the message T4America aims to communicate to Congressional staff poised to shape future transportation policies.

Our sincere thanks to Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester (DE) for helping us to organize the Senate briefing, to the Congressional Progressive Caucus for helping to organize the House briefing, and to our many partners and advocates who came to help educate staff.