For all the motorists, truckers and summer travelers out there who are fed up with feeling pinched at the pump, I've got some good news. Iowans in communities across the state soon will see their gas tax dollars put to work during their commutes to work, school and other daily affairs.
That's because a nearly two-year legislative stalemate that forced Congress to pass 11 extensions of the expired federal highway funding law put many road construction projects and improvements on hold. The indefinite delay caused plenty of headaches among state and local business and civic leaders.
The long-stalled five-year funding bill jammed up state departments of transportation and shelved long term plans for road and bridge building until the federal program that helps states finance regional roadways, bypasses and public transit systems was reauthorized by Congress.
Lawmakers in July finally reached agreement on a $286.4 billion highway and mass-transit funding bill that will unleash a bevy of road projects from coast to coast. Federal dollars also will flow towards public transit projects, bridges, bypasses, bike and river trails, and parking facilities.
As Iowa's senior U.S. Senator I worked to secure $2.3 billion for Iowa projects over the next five years. With such a short road construction season due to Iowa's long winters, I'm glad Congress at long last cemented the federal funding stream so our state transportation planners can start hiring and move road-building from the drawing board to where the rubber meets the road.
As chairman of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, I control the gears of federal tax policy, including how the federal government raises the revenue needed to pay for the nation's highway and transit programs funded at least in part through the federal transportation bill.
There's always a lot of give-and-take in the legislative process. Sometimes partisanship is responsible for delaying consensus. But in other instances, regional interests drive dealmaking among lawmakers. The federal highway bill is one example where politics was driven by local interests.
Iowans can rest assured the Iowa congressional delegation worked hard to bring home the bacon and boost the federal pot of money available to the Iowa Department of Transportation and local communities.
The $2.3 billion over five years will help state and local officials maximize their efforts to improve traffic safety, pave economic development corridors, finance bus replacements and parking facilities, restore scenic bypasses, add bike trails, build bridges, augment downtown redevelopment projects and much more.
I agree the interminable detours taken by the federal transportation bill in Washington regrettably delayed important road projects and held up the hiring of good-paying jobs across America.
Thank goodness the logjam has been broken. And over the next five years, Iowans will see their federal gas tax dollars put to work building roads, bridges, bypasses, and bike trails in their hometown communities.