Interest Groups Step Up Push for Transportation Bill

August 25, 2010

CQ TODAY ONLINE NEWS

Kathryn A. Wolfe

With lawmakers off campaigning, transportation groups have begun their own campaigns to press Congress to complete its overdue work on a multi-year surface transportation bill.

Two umbrella groups, Americans for Transportation Mobility and the Transportation Construction Coalition — which count among their members the Associated General Contractors and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce — have kicked off a campaign to convince voters that prodding their representatives to finish the bill will help fix their local potholes, for instance.

The campaign “ultimately will be a nationwide effort to educate folks about how passing a federal transportation bill will help local road conditions, safety, commuting and transit services,” said Brian Turmail, a spokesman for the Associated General Contractors.

Turmail said the campaign uses “contact your representative” templates that will be easy for the public to use. He said the campaign kicked off last week in South Dakota, featuring advertising buys, media events and outreach.

Turmail said the groups hope to have the “full suite of campaign efforts” active in between six and 12 states soon, but that the campaign should touch on every state in some fashion.

Equipment Sector Effort
Meanwhile, equipment manufacturers are ramping up their own effort to press for passage of a surface transportation bill, targeting ongoing congressional campaigns.

The Associated Equipment Distributors and the Association of Equipment Manufacturers are asking congressional candidates to sign a pledge to make transportation and infrastructure investment a top priority next year.

“The pledge communicates to candidates that we need action now on building needed infrastructure and boosting job creation,” said Dennis Slater, president of the Association of Equipment Manufacturers. “Those seeking to serve through higher office must lead the way in securing sorely needed investments for our roads, bridges, and water systems.”

So far, 35 House candidates have signed on to the pledge, including several sitting lawmakers — Virginia Democrats James P. Moran and Rick Boucher, New Jersey Democrats Steven R. Rothman and Rush D. Holt, and Texans Pete Sessions, a Republican, and Charlie Gonzalez, a Democrat.

When lawmakers will begin working in earnest on a new surface transportation bill is uncertain, with disputes over a system to pay for all the spending that lawmakers want remaining as the major obstacle.

A draft bill has been stalled in the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee since winning subcommittee approval last year. In the Senate, Environment and Public Works Chairwoman Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., has said she wants to mark up a draft this fall.

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